Norges Bank Invests $132.03 Million in Unilever PLC $UL

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,018,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,027,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.09% of Unilever at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 35,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 15,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 4,501 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 378,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,141,000 after purchasing an additional 156,404 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 427,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,155,000 after purchasing an additional 63,376 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Down 0.6%

UL opened at $55.01 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.75 and a 52 week high of $74.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Unilever from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.55.

About Unilever

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.