Trajan Wealth LLC Acquires 6,747 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Trajan Wealth LLC increased its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,308 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,747 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $3,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $176,806,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $153,606,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company's stock worth $210,883,000 after buying an additional 2,170,242 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,378,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 7.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on UL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.33.

Unilever Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE UL traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $63.69. 2,374,644 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,602,377. The company's 50 day moving average price is $59.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.85. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $47.87 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.