Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Acquires 6,647 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 414,394 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,647 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $23,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 981.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,216 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 249.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,136 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 598.7% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,555,000 after buying an additional 1,114,992 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,114,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Unilever by 493.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,105,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,785,000 after buying an additional 918,841 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $56.02 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.53 and a 200 day moving average of $60.34. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UL shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

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.