Choate Investment Advisors Sells 1,191 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Choate Investment Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,752 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,191 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Unilever were worth $1,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,517 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at about $176,806,000. Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,008,000 after acquiring an additional 207,549 shares during the period. Finally, Equity Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,169,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,993,000 after acquiring an additional 36,922 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Up 0.2 %

UL stock opened at $58.74 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $145.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.66. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. 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 raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.