Atria Investments Inc Raises Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,031 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,399 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth $853,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 41,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,000 after buying an additional 8,111 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 126,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,208,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Price Performance

UL opened at $59.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $56.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.83. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on UL shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.33.

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.