Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 161,647 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,300,637 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161,647 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Unilever worth $84,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UL. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1,866.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,221 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 249.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,136 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 598.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,555,000 after buying an additional 1,114,992 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,145,000 after acquiring an additional 911,443 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,132,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,416,000 after buying an additional 668,913 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on UL. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group upgraded Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

Unilever stock opened at $57.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $62.59 and its 200 day moving average is $59.40. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.4755 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th.

Unilever 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.