Heartland Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 16.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,314 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,278 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UL. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Unilever by 14.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Unilever by 26.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 151,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,811,000 after acquiring an additional 31,186 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Unilever during the third quarter worth about $40,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Unilever by 1,515.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 57,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,709,000 after buying an additional 53,555 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 5.0% during the 3rd 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $59.18 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $57.61 and its 200-day moving average is $59.29. The company has a market cap of $146.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.01%.

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.