Sei Investments Co. Acquires 25,332 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 340,970 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,332 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $19,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $176,806,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,517 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after buying an additional 1,214,563 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,895,000. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,008,000 after buying an additional 207,549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Unilever Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $58.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.46 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.33.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

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.