Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Buys 327,329 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,830,532 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 327,329 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.15% of Unilever worth $217,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UL. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Unilever by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 6,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 9,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Unilever by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Unilever by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $60.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $149.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $58.01 and its 200 day moving average is $59.05. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.