JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Grows Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 664,094 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,281 shares during the period. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s holdings in Unilever were worth $37,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $176,806,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $153,606,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 140.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,883,000 after buying an additional 2,170,242 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted 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 worth $195,881,000 after buying an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Unilever by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after buying an additional 1,214,563 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Unilever Price Performance

Unilever stock opened at $62.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $154.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $53.50 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.88.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.5151 dividend. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 59.03%.

About Unilever

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.