Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 108,479 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 348,444 shares of the company’s stock after selling 108,479 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Unilever were worth $19,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $176,806,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $153,606,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after buying an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Unilever by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after buying an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,465,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,095,000 after buying an additional 1,173,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE UL opened at $62.60 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.16. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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