Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases 73,611 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 493,987 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 73,611 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $28,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UL. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Unilever by 981.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,216 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 598.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,992 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,547,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,177 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Unilever by 493.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,105,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,785,000 after acquiring an additional 918,841 shares during the period. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 7,466.0% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 629,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,897,000 after acquiring an additional 621,248 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL opened at $56.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.52 and a 200-day moving average of $60.32. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

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.