Ignite Planners LLC Buys 398 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Ignite Planners LLC boosted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,877 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the quarter. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Unilever by 1.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 56,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,118,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 2nd quarter valued at about $604,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 102,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,630,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 26.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,145,000 after purchasing an additional 911,443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UL shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

UL opened at $55.06 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.35. The firm has a market cap of $136.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.49.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 56.63%.

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.