Unilever Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:UL)

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 4,544 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 299% compared to the typical volume of 1,138 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UL. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its position in Unilever by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 6,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 9,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in Unilever by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UL shares. 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. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE UL traded up $2.86 on Thursday, reaching $62.72. 2,298,850 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,534,300. Unilever has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $155.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.14.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is 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.