Portland Global Advisors LLC Purchases 1,166 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Portland Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 107,066 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $6,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Unilever by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA increased its position in shares of Unilever by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 25,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 2,937 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Unilever by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 65,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,703,000 after acquiring an additional 9,278 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter worth about $153,606,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE UL opened at $59.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $146.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.46 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The business’s fifty day moving average is $57.61 and its 200 day moving average is $59.25.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.