King Luther Capital Management Corp Increases Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,956 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Unilever were worth $508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UL. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,806,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 981.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,216 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Unilever by 493.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,105,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,785,000 after purchasing an additional 918,841 shares during the period. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 7,466.0% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 629,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,897,000 after purchasing an additional 621,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Performance

UL opened at $58.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.91 and a 200 day moving average of $59.75. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on UL. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

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.