Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 33.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,020 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth approximately $176,806,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth approximately $153,606,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,242 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Unilever by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,465,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,095,000 after buying an additional 1,173,298 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.67.

Unilever Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $62.22 on Wednesday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.32 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.49. The firm has a market cap of $152.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.43.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.5151 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is 59.03%.

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.