Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Short Interest Down 21.4% in April

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,620,000 shares, a decrease of 21.4% from the March 31st total of 2,060,000 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unilever

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UL. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Unilever by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,494,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,672,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,417 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,843,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,716,000 after purchasing an additional 965,173 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 6.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,548,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,293,000 after purchasing an additional 515,088 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,548,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,459,000 after purchasing an additional 329,705 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Unilever by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,556,000 after buying an additional 1,238,734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE UL traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.24. The company had a trading volume of 4,278,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,049,528. Unilever has a 12 month low of $46.16 and a 12 month high of $55.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.56.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.4556 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.