Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 689 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,531 shares of the company’s stock after selling 689 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 151,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,811,000 after acquiring an additional 31,186 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Unilever in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,364,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 14.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 12,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 207,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,476,000 after buying an additional 10,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $60.16 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $149.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.05.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. 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.