May Hill Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $176,806,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $153,606,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,242 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unilever Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $59.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $147.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.13. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Unilever Company 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.