International Assets Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3,718.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 171,641 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 167,146 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $8,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,548,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,293,000 after buying an additional 515,088 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unilever by 35.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,556,000 after buying an additional 1,238,734 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Unilever by 1.8% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,819,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,664,000 after acquiring an additional 67,190 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,582,000 after acquiring an additional 47,256 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 2,586,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,387,000 after acquiring an additional 230,042 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock opened at $52.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.72. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.16 and a 12-month high of $55.63.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.4556 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

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.