Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,956 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auxano Advisors LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 155.2% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unilever by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,193,000 after purchasing an additional 9,528 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,694,000. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 6,404 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

UL opened at $58.68 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.01%.

About Unilever

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.