Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,195 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holderness Investments Co. boosted its position in Unilever by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 3,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $511,000. Finally, ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its position in Unilever by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 172,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,809,000 after buying an additional 7,304 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $58.64 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.28 and a 200 day moving average of $59.53. The firm has a market cap of $145.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, 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.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unilever Company Profile

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.