Unilever (NYSE:UL) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever (NYSE:UL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on UL. UBS Group raised shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

Unilever stock opened at $57.40 on Tuesday. Unilever has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.32. The company has a market cap of $142.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.49.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.4755 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UL. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $684,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 23.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,141,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,312,000 after purchasing an additional 214,635 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 15,941 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 249.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,136 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,388,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.