Marietta Investment Partners LLC Acquires 14,781 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 460.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,993 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,781 shares during the quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 0.5% in the third quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 39,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,568,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Unilever by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 4,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $58.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.53. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87. The company has a market capitalization of $145.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business 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 $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

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.