Unilever PLC $UL Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,467 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 35,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 15,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 4,501 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 378,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,141,000 after purchasing an additional 156,404 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 427,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,155,000 after purchasing an additional 63,376 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 price target on shares of Unilever and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.55.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $58.68 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.95 and a 52 week high of $74.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.65.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The company had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.39 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Unilever PLC will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.5449 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.