Aviance Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 37,960 Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 37,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,905,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Unilever by 111.5% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Unilever in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Unilever by 215.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 75.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Unilever from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Unilever from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Unilever Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE UL traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $55.46. The stock had a trading volume of 535,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,758,076. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.16 and a twelve month high of $56.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.69.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $0.4556 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%.

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.