Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Sells 615 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,015 shares of the company’s stock after selling 615 shares during the quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Unilever by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 26.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 151,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,811,000 after purchasing an additional 31,186 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Unilever by 1,515.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 57,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,709,000 after purchasing an additional 53,555 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 5.0% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 45,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock opened at $59.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.61 and its 200-day moving average is $59.29. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 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.