Sepio Capital LP Reduces Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Sepio Capital LP trimmed its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,160 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Unilever were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UL. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 19,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,191,000 after acquiring an additional 327,329 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 296,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,793,000 after acquiring an additional 119,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $587,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Price Performance

UL opened at $60.16 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.05.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.