Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Acquired by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 716,472 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,366 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $40,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seeds Investor LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $442,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 288,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,377,000 after acquiring an additional 14,111 shares during the last quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth about $375,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 78,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,579 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $61.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.85. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-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 issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently 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.