Stokes Family Office LLC Takes $214,000 Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Stokes Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,517 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth $176,806,000. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,008,000 after acquiring an additional 207,549 shares during the period. Finally, Equity Investment Corp lifted its stake in Unilever by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,169,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,993,000 after acquiring an additional 36,922 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $58.91 on Thursday. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.57. The company has a market capitalization of $146.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.