Unilever Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:UL)

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 4,544 call options on the company. This is an increase of 299% compared to the average volume of 1,138 call options.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $60.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.12. Unilever has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The firm has a market cap of $149.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unilever

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Auxano Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever in the 4th quarter worth about $296,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 155.2% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 5,117 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,193,000 after acquiring an additional 9,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 6,404 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UL shares. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.33.

About Unilever

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.