Cullen Investment Group LTD. Takes $5 Million Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 77,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,003,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Unilever by 9.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,973,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935,227 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $144,979,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 13,906.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,268,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,465,000 after buying an additional 2,252,105 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,578,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,319,966,000 after buying an additional 1,989,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter valued at $82,461,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $60.75 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.59. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $60.32 and a 12 month high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The company had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.39 billion. Equities analysts predict that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.5547 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UL shares. Morgan Stanley set a $60.10 price target on shares of Unilever and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Unilever and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Unilever from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.55.

Unilever Company Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.