Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,534,105 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,113 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.14% of Unilever worth $200,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Unilever Stock Up 0.1 %

UL opened at $59.60 on Wednesday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.13. The company has a market cap of $147.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

About Unilever

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.