Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Invests $9.27 Million in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 163,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,271,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $296,000. Auxano Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Unilever by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in Unilever by 155.2% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,193,000 after purchasing an additional 9,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 45,387 shares of the company's stock worth $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 11,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the topic of several recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group raised Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Up 0.8 %

UL stock opened at $63.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $156.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $60.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.81. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $51.90 and a 12-month high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.5151 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Unilever's payout ratio is currently 59.03%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.