Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Increases Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,964 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Unilever were worth $289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 51.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 672,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,239,000 after acquiring an additional 227,681 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,582,000 after acquiring an additional 47,256 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 3,718.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 171,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,321,000 after acquiring an additional 167,146 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 762,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,946,000 after acquiring an additional 98,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Unilever by 3.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on UL. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $48.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,486,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,802,208. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.16 and a 1 year high of $55.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.52.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.4582 per share. This represents a $1.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd.

Unilever Company 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.