Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 209,790 Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 209,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,895,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,086,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,177 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company's stock worth $195,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $163,008,000 after acquiring an additional 207,549 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Unilever by 3.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,812,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,588,000 after purchasing an additional 63,835 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $58.25. 955,317 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,635,536. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.86.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.