Ameriprise Financial Inc. Boosts Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 844,989 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,597 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $47,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 551.9% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,328,000 after acquiring an additional 34,764 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter worth $192,000. Guardian Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 151,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UL shares. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.50.

Unilever Trading Down 0.0%

Unilever stock opened at $62.55 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.85. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $53.50 and a 52 week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.5151 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.03%.

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.