Unilever PLC $UL Stake Increased by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 635,295 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,568 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $37,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Unilever by 9.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,973,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935,227 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the 2nd quarter worth about $144,979,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 13,906.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,268,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,465,000 after buying an additional 2,252,105 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,578,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,319,966,000 after buying an additional 1,989,631 shares during the period. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,461,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE UL opened at $64.01 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $61.78 and a 1 year high of $74.97. The business’s fifty day moving average is $68.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.08.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($1.00). The firm had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.39 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.5547 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on UL. BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 target price on Unilever and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Unilever from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.55.

Unilever Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.