Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Purchases 354 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,847 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $640,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in Unilever by 1,866.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,451,000 after buying an additional 2,027,221 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Unilever by 249.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,136 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 598.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,992 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Unilever by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,145,000 after purchasing an additional 911,443 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Unilever by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,132,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,416,000 after purchasing an additional 668,913 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of UL opened at $57.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.32. The stock has a market cap of $142.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.49. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America upgraded Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.