Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Bought by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 69.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,747 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,517 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,806,000. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,008,000 after acquiring an additional 207,549 shares during the period. Finally, Equity Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,169,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,993,000 after acquiring an additional 36,922 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Down 0.4 %

UL stock opened at $59.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $146.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.76. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

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.