Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Purchases 8,949 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 118.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,532 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,949 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Unilever were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the third quarter valued at approximately $853,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 24.0% in the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 41,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,727,000 after buying an additional 8,111 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 0.6% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 126,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,208,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 14.1% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 100.0% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 6,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of several recent research reports. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.33.

Unilever Trading Up 1.7 %

UL stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,380,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,522,238. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.69 and a 200-day moving average of $59.83. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $146.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever's payout ratio is 53.01%.

Unilever Company 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.