Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Grows Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 35.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,571 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,282 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $4,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 17,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 2,627 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,388,000. Maia Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of UL opened at $58.19 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The company has a market capitalization of $144.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.85.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

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.