National Bank of Canada FI Has $24.82 Million Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 13.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 382,226 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,521 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Unilever were worth $24,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UL. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Unilever by 1,866.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,221 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 981.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,868,000 after buying an additional 1,884,216 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 249.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,204,000 after buying an additional 1,248,136 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Unilever by 598.7% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company's stock worth $71,555,000 after buying an additional 1,114,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 7.1% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,086,547,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,177 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America raised Unilever from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.75.

Unilever Stock Performance

Unilever stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.73. 3,382,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,572,028. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.65 and a 200 day moving average of $60.06. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th.

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.