Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,830,532 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 327,329 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $217,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UL. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $60.16 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $58.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.05. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $149.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

Unilever 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.