Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Purchases New Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 423.8% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 393.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Unilever during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in Unilever by 54.3% during the second quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on UL shares. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upgraded Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group upgraded Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Unilever Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $57.40 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $142.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.32.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.62%.

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.