Jacobs & Co. CA Sells 4,856 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Jacobs & Co. CA lessened its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 91,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,856 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Unilever were worth $5,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 981.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,868,000 after buying an additional 1,884,216 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Unilever by 249.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,204,000 after buying an additional 1,248,136 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 598.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,555,000 after buying an additional 1,114,992 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,547,000 after buying an additional 1,114,177 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 493.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,105,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,785,000 after buying an additional 918,841 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on UL. StockNews.com cut shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE:UL traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.17. 1,896,856 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,077,227. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.49.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.4755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. This is a boost 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.