Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Has $815,000 Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,808 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,042 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 111.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 215.1% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 586 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.00.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $52.66 on Wednesday. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.16 and a 1-year high of $55.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.75.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.4556 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th.

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.