Unilever PLC $UL Position Lowered by Saratoga Research & Investment Management

Saratoga Research & Investment Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,853,095 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255,622 shares during the quarter. Unilever accounts for approximately 6.4% of Saratoga Research & Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Saratoga Research & Investment Management owned about 0.08% of Unilever worth $121,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,247,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,950,000 after purchasing an additional 37,630 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 160.8% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 82,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,375,000 after purchasing an additional 50,682 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 78,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,127,000 after purchasing an additional 21,313 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth about $5,003,000. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 1,135.3% during the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 388,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,398,000 after purchasing an additional 356,918 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UL. Weiss Ratings downgraded Unilever from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Argus raised Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.55.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $56.27 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $54.95 and a one year high of $74.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.92.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The firm had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.39 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Unilever PLC will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unilever Company 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.