Larson Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $853,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC raised its position in Unilever by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 41,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,000 after buying an additional 8,111 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its position in Unilever by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 126,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,208,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Unilever by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Unilever by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UL shares. 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. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $59.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $146.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.83. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.