Unilever PLC $UL Shares Sold by St. James Investment Company LLC

St. James Investment Company LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 565,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78,222 shares during the quarter. Unilever accounts for 5.9% of St. James Investment Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. St. James Investment Company LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $37,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ABC Arbitrage SA lifted its holdings in Unilever by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 117,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,683,000 after buying an additional 30,355 shares during the last quarter. Raelipskie Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 49.8% in the 4th quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 21,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 7,287 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 59,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,865,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 56,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 16,240 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on UL. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Argus upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.55.

Unilever Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $57.89 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.16. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $54.95 and a one year high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The business had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.39 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unilever PLC will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.5449 per share. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th.

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.