Polen Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Polen Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,682 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $13,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 7,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 66,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 160,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,102,000 after purchasing an additional 9,590 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL stock opened at $58.74 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.66.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Unilever’s payout ratio 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.