Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Purchased by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE UL opened at $58.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.33. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 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.