Marietta Investment Partners LLC Has $1.02 Million Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 460.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,993 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,781 shares during the quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,517 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,806,000. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company's stock worth $163,008,000 after purchasing an additional 207,549 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,847,686 shares of the company's stock worth $161,464,000 after purchasing an additional 131,349 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

Unilever stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.12. 1,099,507 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,574,371. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $143.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.40.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

Unilever Profile

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.