Guardian Partners Inc. Makes New $2.84 Million Investment in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 50,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,841,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the topic of a number of research reports. DZ Bank raised shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL stock opened at $58.64 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.49. The stock has a market capitalization 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.