Jennison Associates LLC Has $99.34 Million Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 45.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,518,969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,278,907 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $99,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 141.3% in the 3rd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.55.

Unilever Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of UL stock opened at $59.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.69. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.95 and a 52 week high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($1.00). The company had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.39 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Unilever PLC will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.5547 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Unilever Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.