Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.33.

UL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unilever

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,906,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,317,000 after purchasing an additional 257,538 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,103,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,345,000 after purchasing an additional 250,053 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,191,000 after purchasing an additional 327,329 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,242 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $59.24 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

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

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.