Sapient Capital LLC Takes $785,000 Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 51.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 672,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,239,000 after buying an additional 227,681 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,582,000 after purchasing an additional 47,256 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 428,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,762,000 after purchasing an additional 112,677 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 3,718.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 171,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,321,000 after purchasing an additional 167,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,038,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $52.13. The stock had a trading volume of 4,413,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,468,891. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.16 and a 1 year high of $55.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.69.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.4556 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%.

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.