Zions Bancorporation N.A. Has $3.15 Million Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 63.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,596 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,554 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on UL. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL stock opened at $58.16 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The company has a market capitalization of $144.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.40.

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 issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

Unilever 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.