Meritage Portfolio Management Has $3.65 Million Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 75,306 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 271 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 3.2% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 95,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,693,000 after acquiring an additional 2,965 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 9,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new position in Unilever during the third quarter worth $949,000. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 26.5% in the third quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 5.9 %

Unilever stock traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.92. The stock had a trading volume of 6,762,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,871,914. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.16 and a fifty-two week high of $55.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.52.

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 $0.4582 dividend. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.