Johnson Financial Group Inc. Sells 650 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 51.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 77.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,025,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,310,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,756,000. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 2.7% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 39,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,543,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL opened at $63.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.83. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $51.45 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.5151 per share. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.