Aviso Financial Inc. Buys 934 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Aviso Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,172 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UL. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV bought a new position in Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Unilever by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co grew its position in shares of Unilever by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 75,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,905,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Unilever by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 18,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UL. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Down 0.7 %

UL opened at $58.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $145.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.91 and a 200-day moving average of $59.75. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

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.