Cooke & Bieler LP Reduces Stock Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Cooke & Bieler LP lessened its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 29.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 741,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 303,886 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Unilever were worth $45,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gallacher Capital Management LLC increased its position in Unilever by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Unilever by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 21,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Unilever by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in Unilever by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in Unilever by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 19,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. CICC Research assumed coverage on Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Unilever from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Unilever Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of UL stock opened at $60.21 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $54.32 and a 1-year high of $65.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.84.

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.