M&T Bank Corp Reduces Stock Position in Unilever PLC $UL

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 588,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,609 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Unilever were worth $34,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Unilever by 3.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,247,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,950,000 after acquiring an additional 37,630 shares during the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Unilever in the second quarter valued at about $5,403,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Unilever by 66.1% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 158,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,709,000 after purchasing an additional 63,197 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in Unilever by 12.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 463,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 50,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 59.5% during the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 7,159 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Unilever from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 price target on shares of Unilever and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.55.

Unilever Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE UL opened at $64.01 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $61.78 and a 52 week high of $74.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.11.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The company had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.39 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.5547 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.