Manning & Napier Group LLC Buys 47,256 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,256 shares during the period. Unilever accounts for approximately 1.9% of Manning & Napier Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Manning & Napier Group LLC owned 0.13% of Unilever worth $161,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 111.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 215.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 204.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,290,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,611. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.16 and a 52-week high of $55.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.76.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Unilever 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.