DAVENPORT & Co LLC Buys 21,313 Shares of Unilever PLC $UL

DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 37.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 78,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,313 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $5,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Unilever in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 108.8% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the third quarter worth about $29,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UL. BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 price objective on Unilever and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Unilever from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.55.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $59.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.19 and a 200-day moving average of $67.53. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $59.75 and a fifty-two week high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The company had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.39 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.5547 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%.

Unilever Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.