Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Acquired by Manning & Napier Group LLC

Manning & Napier Group LLC lifted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,256 shares during the quarter. Unilever makes up about 1.9% of Manning & Napier Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Manning & Napier Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $161,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 19,363,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,545,000 after purchasing an additional 331,498 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 6.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,548,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,293,000 after purchasing an additional 515,088 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 48.9% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,855,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,771 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,042,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,988,000 after purchasing an additional 28,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 35.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,734 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Up 0.1 %

UL stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.19. 1,290,277 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,628,611. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.76. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.16 and a 1 year high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.4582 per share. This represents a $1.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on UL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.00.

About Unilever

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.