Advisory Services Network LLC Has $2.87 Million Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Advisory Services Network LLC decreased its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,057 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after buying an additional 1,214,563 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,191,000 after purchasing an additional 327,329 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,242 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $176,806,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $59.95 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $58.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.88.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Unilever Company 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.