Meridian Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL – Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,751 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 981.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,216 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after buying an additional 1,214,563 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Unilever by 493.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,105,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,785,000 after buying an additional 918,841 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 7,466.0% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 629,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,897,000 after acquiring an additional 621,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,895,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Trading Up 2.0 %

UL stock opened at $57.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $143.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.50. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.90.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on UL

About Unilever

(Free Report)

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.

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