Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Unilever by 1,866.0% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,221 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 981.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,868,000 after buying an additional 1,884,216 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position 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 valued at $98,204,000 after buying an additional 1,248,136 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 598.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,555,000 after buying an additional 1,114,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 7.1% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,547,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,177 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on UL shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Unilever Trading Up 1.1 %

UL opened at $59.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.43 and a 200 day moving average of $59.73. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.4755 dividend. This is a boost 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 3.18%.

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.