Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Decreases Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 348,444 shares of the company's stock after selling 108,479 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Unilever were worth $19,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $176,806,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $153,606,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company's stock worth $195,881,000 after buying an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Unilever by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,465,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173,298 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on UL shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE:UL traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $57.87. The stock had a trading volume of 5,119,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,599,234. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.95. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.