Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $2.22 Million Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,059 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,498 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 19,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 3,722 shares in the last quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 5,059 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $58.64 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87.

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 issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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