Oak Ridge Investments LLC Raises Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,946 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $6,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 15,941 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth $11,694,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 249.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,204,000 after buying an additional 1,248,136 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 236.2% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 30,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after buying an additional 21,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the third quarter worth about $1,388,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on UL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock opened at $55.68 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.28.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.4755 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th.

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.