Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Sells 755 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. cut its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 22,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 755 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UL. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Unilever by 43.5% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 26,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 7,895 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Unilever by 4.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Unilever by 40.5% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 41,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 11,905 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Unilever by 10.7% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 127,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,788,000 after purchasing an additional 12,302 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 204.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $50.21. 989,254 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,760,886. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.16 and a 12 month high of $55.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.32 and its 200-day moving average is $48.74.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

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

Unilever Profile

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company. It operates through Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream segments. 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, which includes the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.