Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Reduces Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lowered its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 36.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145,006 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $14,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $176,806,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $11,895,000. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,008,000 after buying an additional 207,549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Unilever Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $58.10 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.35. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.46 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

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 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

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.