Norges Bank Takes $153.61 Million Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,709,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,606,000. Norges Bank owned 0.11% of Unilever as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 66.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,517 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $176,806,000. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its position in Unilever by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,008,000 after purchasing an additional 207,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,847,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,464,000 after purchasing an additional 131,349 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UL shares. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL stock opened at $59.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.17. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87. The firm has a market cap of $147.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 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.