Kestra Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 981.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,216 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 7.1% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,177 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Unilever by 493.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,105,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,785,000 after purchasing an additional 918,841 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 7,466.0% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 629,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,897,000 after purchasing an additional 621,248 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in Unilever during the third quarter worth about $23,488,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE UL opened at $56.14 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.79 and a 200-day moving average of $60.09. The company has a market cap of $139.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.50.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Unilever Company 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.