Heartland Advisors Inc. Purchases 9,278 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 65,314 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,278 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Unilever by 14.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 151,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,811,000 after purchasing an additional 31,186 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Unilever during the third quarter worth about $40,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Unilever by 1,515.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 57,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,709,000 after acquiring an additional 53,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Unilever by 5.0% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 45,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Unilever Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE UL opened at $59.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $57.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.29. The company has a market capitalization of $146.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Unilever Profile

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.