Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,191 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,466 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $4,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter worth about $176,806,000. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,008,000 after purchasing an additional 207,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,169,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,993,000 after purchasing an additional 36,922 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

Unilever stock opened at $58.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.72.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

Unilever 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.