Farther Finance Advisors LLC Acquires 33,215 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 69.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 80,747 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,215 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $4,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV bought a new position in Unilever in the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co raised its holdings in Unilever by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 75,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,905,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $59.07 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.76. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.46 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The firm has a market cap of $146.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on UL shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, January 9th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.