Stifel Financial Corp Increases Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 527,458 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 88,404 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Unilever were worth $29,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UL. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 6,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 9,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $63.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,557,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,570,007. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $51.34 and a one year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.5151 per share. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.03%.

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.