Unilever PLC $UL Shares Sold by Oxbow Advisors LLC

Oxbow Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 116,901 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,844 shares during the quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $7,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UL. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Unilever by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,973,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935,227 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 13,906.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,268,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,252,105 shares during the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the third quarter worth about $82,461,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 4.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,048,000 after purchasing an additional 959,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 78.8% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,933,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,261,000 after purchasing an additional 852,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.55.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL stock opened at $58.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $61.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.42. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $54.95 and a 52-week high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($1.00). The business had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.39 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Unilever PLC will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.5449 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th.

Unilever Profile

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.