FLC Capital Advisors Grows Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

FLC Capital Advisors lifted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,762 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the period. FLC Capital Advisors’ holdings in Unilever were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 51.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 672,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,239,000 after purchasing an additional 227,681 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Unilever by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. St. James Investment Company LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. St. James Investment Company LLC now owns 733,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,216,000 after buying an additional 74,539 shares during the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 131,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,496,000 after buying an additional 14,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Unilever by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 394,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,505,000 after buying an additional 6,341 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL traded up $0.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.13. 2,289,981 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,791,239. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.74. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.16 and a 12-month high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.4582 dividend. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UL. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley cut Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.00.

Unilever Company Profile

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company. It operates through Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream segments. 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, which includes the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.