Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Acquires 1,800 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,195 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Trading Down 1.0 %

UL opened at $58.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $145.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.28 and its 200 day moving average is $59.53. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on UL shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

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.