Unilever (NYSE:UL) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever (NYSE:UL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Separately, Morgan Stanley downgraded Unilever from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Unilever Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:UL opened at $46.48 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $49.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.57. Unilever has a 52-week low of $46.16 and a 52-week high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.4582 dividend. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Unilever

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UL. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 672,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,239,000 after acquiring an additional 227,681 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,582,000 after acquiring an additional 47,256 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3,718.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 171,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,321,000 after acquiring an additional 167,146 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, St. James Investment Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. St. James Investment Company LLC now owns 733,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,216,000 after acquiring an additional 74,539 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

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.