Evolution Advisers Inc. Purchases New Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 51.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 672,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,239,000 after purchasing an additional 227,681 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,582,000 after purchasing an additional 47,256 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 3,718.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 171,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,321,000 after purchasing an additional 167,146 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 762,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,946,000 after purchasing an additional 98,275 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Unilever by 3.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL traded up $2.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.92. 6,764,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,871,935. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.53. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.16 and a 12-month high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.4582 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on UL shares. Morgan Stanley cut Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

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.