United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Has $33.98 Million Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 599,334 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 131,682 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $33,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Unilever by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,199 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 639,518 shares of the company's stock worth $41,543,000 after purchasing an additional 4,398 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,025,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Unilever in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,310,000. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Unilever in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,756,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UL traded up $1.22 on Friday, reaching $63.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,154,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,585,155. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.78. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $47.55 and a twelve month high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is 53.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.