Unilever (NYSE:UL) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unilever (NYSE:UL) from an underweight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on UL. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Unilever from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Unilever from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $54.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $54.37 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.27. Unilever has a 1 year low of $46.16 and a 1 year high of $54.98.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.4556 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UL. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 111.5% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.