Townsquare Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 288,829 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,111 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $16,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unilever by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,191,000 after buying an additional 327,329 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 140.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,883,000 after buying an additional 2,170,242 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Unilever by 66.4% during 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter worth $176,806,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Unilever Trading Down 0.2 %

UL traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,274,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,614,076. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.81. The firm has a market cap of $153.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Unilever's payout ratio is 53.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on UL. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unilever has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.33.

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.