Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Buys 119,438 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 67.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 296,176 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 119,438 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $16,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Unilever in the 4th quarter worth $587,000. PAX Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 13,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 16,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Unilever by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 70,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,001,000 after purchasing an additional 19,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 20,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of UL stock opened at $60.16 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.08. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $149.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DZ Bank raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

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.