Focus Partners Wealth Buys 75,302 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 166.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,413 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,302 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Unilever were worth $6,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 111,654 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,331,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 48,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,731,000 after purchasing an additional 4,167 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 217.7% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 53,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,035,000 after purchasing an additional 36,671 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $507,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.50.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,690,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,521,044. The firm has a market cap of $152.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $53.50 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The company's 50 day moving average price is $61.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.5151 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Unilever's payout ratio is 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.