Wedbush Securities Inc. Takes Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. 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, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL 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 cap of $148.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.88.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.