Yacktman Asset Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Yacktman Asset Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 290,653 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,579 shares during the quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in Unilever were worth $14,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UL. FMR LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 515,088 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unilever by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,734 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Unilever by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,819,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,664,000 after acquiring an additional 67,190 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Unilever by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,454,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,654,000 after acquiring an additional 72,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Group LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,582,000 after purchasing an additional 47,256 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Up 0.6 %

Unilever stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.22. The stock had a trading volume of 3,281,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,875,859. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.16 and a 52-week high of $55.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.53.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.4582 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.00.

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.