Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Sold by Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,124 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,955 shares during the quarter. Unilever accounts for approximately 2.1% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Unilever by 35.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,734 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 6.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,548,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,293,000 after acquiring an additional 515,088 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 4,657.3% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 431,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,302,000 after acquiring an additional 422,230 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management lifted its holdings in Unilever by 13.1% in the third quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,512,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,122,000 after acquiring an additional 290,690 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in Unilever by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,215,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,903,000 after acquiring an additional 247,004 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Unilever Trading Up 5.9 %

Shares of UL stock traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.92. The stock had a trading volume of 6,764,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,871,935. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.16 and a 12-month high of $55.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.52.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.4582 per share. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd.

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.