Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,309,586 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,949 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Unilever worth $74,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auxano Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 155.2% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 5,117 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,193,000 after buying an additional 9,528 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,694,000. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 6,404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 0.2 %

Unilever stock opened at $58.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $145.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.69. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

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.