Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SPC Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Unilever by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Unilever by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 654,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,133,000 after purchasing an additional 15,392 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Unilever by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 55,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,399 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Unilever by 351.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 77,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,374,000 after buying an additional 60,049 shares during the period. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 0.8 %

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

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.