Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Lowers Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC decreased its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 248,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 145,006 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $14,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $58.10 on Wednesday. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.35.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.