ProVise Management Group LLC Has $7.01 Million Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,539 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,045 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $7,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Unilever by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,843,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,716,000 after acquiring an additional 965,173 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Unilever by 6.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,548,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,293,000 after acquiring an additional 515,088 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Unilever by 35.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,734 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Unilever by 1.8% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,819,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,664,000 after acquiring an additional 67,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its position in Unilever by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,582,000 after acquiring an additional 47,256 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on UL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Unilever from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy 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 $54.00.

Unilever Stock Up 0.3 %

Unilever stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.56. 3,153,110 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,869,986. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.16 and a 12 month high of $54.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.27.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.4556 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%.

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.