Jacobs & Co. CA Reduces Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Jacobs & Co. CA cut its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,403 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,560 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Unilever were worth $5,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Unilever by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,906,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,317,000 after purchasing an additional 257,538 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,103,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,345,000 after purchasing an additional 250,053 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,191,000 after purchasing an additional 327,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $63.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $53.50 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.02.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.5151 per share. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UL shares. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.50.

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.