Modera Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Unilever PLC $UL

Modera Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,051 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $12,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Unilever by 9.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,973,000 after buying an additional 2,935,227 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 4.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,048,000 after buying an additional 959,269 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Unilever by 1.6% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,773,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,261,000 after buying an additional 91,049 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unilever by 3.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,001,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,183,000 after buying an additional 133,776 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Unilever by 0.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,293,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,221,000 after buying an additional 17,763 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Unilever from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.55.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL opened at $55.73 on Wednesday. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $54.95 and a 12-month high of $74.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.73.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The firm had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.39 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.5547 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%.

Unilever Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.