Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Grows Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 595,219 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 101,232 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $35,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after buying an additional 1,214,563 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,906,824 shares of the company's stock worth $448,317,000 after purchasing an additional 257,538 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Unilever by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,103,075 shares of the company's stock worth $289,345,000 after purchasing an additional 250,053 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company's stock worth $217,191,000 after purchasing an additional 327,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 140.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,242 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas raised Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.67.

Unilever Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:UL opened at $62.80 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $54.32 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $62.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.47. The firm has a market cap of $154.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.43.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.5151 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.