Grandfield & Dodd LLC Sells 50,757 Shares of Unilever PLC $UL

Grandfield & Dodd LLC trimmed its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,077 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,757 shares during the period. Unilever makes up approximately 1.3% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $22,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Unilever by 0.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 40,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Invested Advisors increased its stake in Unilever by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Invested Advisors now owns 3,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Bridge Advisors increased its stake in Unilever by 1.2% during the third quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 17,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UL. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Argus upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Unilever from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.55.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE UL opened at $56.49 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $54.95 and a one year high of $74.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.11.

Unilever Company Profile

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.