Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 3,360 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,720 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,360 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. United Community Bank grew its holdings in Unilever by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 3,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 22,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 19,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Unilever by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 467,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,507,000 after acquiring an additional 9,718 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Unilever by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 8,949 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on UL shares. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

UL stock opened at $59.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $147.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.77.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.