Holderness Investments Co. Has $223,000 Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Holderness Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,925 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Unilever by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 15,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,133,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 2.8% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 7,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in Unilever by 6.5% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 7,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 19,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $58.64 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The company has a market capitalization of $145.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $57.28 and its 200-day moving average is $59.53.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

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

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.