Bell Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Bell Bank grew its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 111,816 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,463 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Unilever were worth $6,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Unilever in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:UL opened at $56.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.09. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UL. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

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.