Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Reduces Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lowered its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 755 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 57,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its stake in Unilever by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 106,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,162,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 50,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UL. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of Unilever stock traded up $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $50.21. 989,254 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,760,886. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.74. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.16 and a 1-year high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.4582 dividend. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd.

Unilever Company Profile

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company. It operates through Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream segments. 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, which includes the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.