Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 203,903 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32,519 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $11,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Unilever Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE UL opened at $58.74 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $145.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.95 and a 200-day moving average of $59.72.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.01%.

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.