Unilever (NYSE:UL) Upgraded at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unilever (NYSE:UL) from an underweight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on UL. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Unilever from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $54.56 on Thursday. Unilever has a twelve month low of $46.16 and a twelve month high of $54.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.33.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.4556 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th.

Institutional Trading of Unilever

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 199.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 80,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,043,000 after acquiring an additional 53,651 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Unilever by 213.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 277,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,937,000 after acquiring an additional 189,121 shares during the period. Raelipskie Partnership increased its holdings in Unilever by 44.7% in the first quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 13,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Unilever by 6.2% in the first quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 13,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 11.7% in the first quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

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.