Aviso Financial Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,172 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 934 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Unilever Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $58.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $145.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.91 and its 200 day moving average is $59.75.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.