West Family Investments Inc. Has $442,000 Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

West Family Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,116 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 814 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 111.5% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 215.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on UL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UL traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $52.11. 1,287,583 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,876,258. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.16 and a 12-month high of $55.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.64.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.4556 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%.

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.