GQG Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

GQG Partners LLC reduced its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 35.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,496,305 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,638,647 shares during the quarter. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $368,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 155.2% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unilever by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,193,000 after purchasing an additional 9,528 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,694,000. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 6,404 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE UL opened at $58.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.40.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is 53.01%.

Unilever 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.