Becker Capital Management Inc. Sells 13,944 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Becker Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,167 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,944 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $4,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Unilever by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,103,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,345,000 after purchasing an additional 250,053 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,191,000 after purchasing an additional 327,329 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock opened at $63.13 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.83. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $51.45 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.5151 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Unilever’s payout ratio is 59.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.