Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Sells 443 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 443 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at about $176,806,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 981.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,216 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 493.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,105,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,785,000 after acquiring an additional 918,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 7,466.0% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 629,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,897,000 after acquiring an additional 621,248 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Down 0.4 %

Unilever stock opened at $59.07 on Thursday. 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 $146.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.76.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio 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.