Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Purchases 1,843 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 143,743 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,843 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $8,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 0.5% in the third quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 39,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,568,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in Unilever by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 4,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Performance

UL opened at $59.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.57. 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 given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

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.