Waverly Advisors LLC Grows Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 159,116 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,015 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $9,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Unilever by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,199 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 4,724 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 14,321 shares of the company's stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 4,482 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,852 shares of the company's stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Unilever by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,789 shares of the company's stock worth $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented 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. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE UL traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $63.77. 1,460,794 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,512,390. The business's 50 day moving average is $61.50 and its 200-day moving average is $58.93. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $53.50 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.5151 per share. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.03%.

Unilever 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.