Advocate Group LLC Sells 12,394 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Advocate Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 149,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,394 shares during the period. Unilever comprises approximately 1.6% of Advocate Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $7,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $181,854,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $169,744,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,855,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,771 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1,869.4% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,519,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442,059 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,734 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $50.19. 1,290,277 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,628,611. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.43 and a 200-day moving average of $48.76. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.16 and a twelve month high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.4582 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%.

Unilever 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.