Oak Ridge Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 115,946 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,092 shares during the quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $6,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Unilever by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after acquiring an additional 15,941 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,694,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 249.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,136 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 236.2% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 30,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after buying an additional 21,441 shares during the period. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,388,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 0.4 %

UL opened at $55.68 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.28.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4755 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

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.