Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Short Interest Up 55.2% in December

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,010,000 shares, an increase of 55.2% from the November 30th total of 1,940,000 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1,866.0% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company's stock worth $117,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,221 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 981.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company's stock worth $134,868,000 after buying an additional 1,884,216 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Unilever by 249.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company's stock worth $98,204,000 after buying an additional 1,248,136 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 598.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,555,000 after buying an additional 1,114,992 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on UL shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.75.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE:UL traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.46. 1,809,267 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,574,195. The company has a market cap of $142.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $59.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.32. Unilever has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.4755 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.63%.

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.