Fiduciary Group LLC Cuts Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Fiduciary Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,134 shares of the company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $59.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.57. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $147.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

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.