D.A. Davidson & CO. Decreases Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,827 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,204 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the third quarter worth $11,908,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth $463,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Unilever by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 6,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 2,325 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 16.9% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after buying an additional 15,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever in the third quarter worth about $292,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:UL opened at $56.14 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.08. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

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.