Versant Capital Management Inc Acquires 873 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 721.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 994 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Unilever were worth $56,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 7.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,086,547,000 after buying an additional 1,114,177 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Unilever by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,145,000 after acquiring an additional 911,443 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management boosted its stake in Unilever by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,169,000 after acquiring an additional 22,325 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 7.9% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,667,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,273,000 after purchasing an additional 194,165 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 981.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,216 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on UL. StockNews.com cut shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

Unilever Trading Down 0.0 %

UL stock opened at $56.51 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $140.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.36. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.4755 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.63%.

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.