Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 250,053 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,103,075 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 250,053 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Unilever were worth $289,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UL. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 6,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 9,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE UL opened at $63.79 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.67 and its 200 day moving average is $58.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $47.55 and a 1 year high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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