First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 70,221 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 965,733 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,221 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Unilever were worth $54,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on UL. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

UL stock opened at $65.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $162.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50 day moving average price is $58.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.81. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $47.80 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.01%.

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.

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