Norges Bank Invests $132.03 Million in Unilever PLC $UL

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,018,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,027,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 9.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,973,000 after buying an additional 2,935,227 shares in the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new position in Unilever in the third quarter worth $82,461,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 4.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,048,000 after acquiring an additional 959,269 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 78.8% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,933,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,261,000 after acquiring an additional 852,099 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 1,135.3% during the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 388,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,398,000 after purchasing an additional 356,918 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on UL. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Unilever from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.55.

Unilever Trading Down 0.6%

UL stock opened at $55.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.73. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.75 and a 12 month high of $74.97.

Unilever Company 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.