Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,118,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $176,806,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.13% of Unilever at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auxano Advisors LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Unilever by 155.2% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company's stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 5,117 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Unilever by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company's stock worth $37,193,000 after acquiring an additional 9,528 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth $11,694,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Unilever by 236.2% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 30,520 shares of the company's stock worth $1,997,000 after acquiring an additional 21,441 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 research report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.33.

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Unilever Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE UL traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.24. 2,380,209 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,522,238. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.84.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is 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.