Sage Investment Counsel LLC Makes New Investment in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $434,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,177 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 66.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,881,000 after buying an additional 1,378,517 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,008,000 after buying an additional 207,549 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,169,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,993,000 after buying an additional 36,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,812,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,588,000 after buying an additional 63,835 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Unilever Trading Up 0.3 %

Unilever stock opened at $56.61 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.93.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%.

Unilever Profile

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.