Golden State Equity Partners Reduces Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Golden State Equity Partners reduced its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,689 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Unilever were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,548,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,293,000 after purchasing an additional 515,088 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,734 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,819,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,664,000 after purchasing an additional 67,190 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,454,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,654,000 after purchasing an additional 72,277 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,582,000 after acquiring an additional 47,256 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Performance

Unilever stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.24. 4,278,463 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,049,528. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.56. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.16 and a 12-month high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.4556 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

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.