Empower Advisory Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Empower Advisory Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 13.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 677 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,145,000 after acquiring an additional 911,443 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,132,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,416,000 after acquiring an additional 668,913 shares during the last quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,169,000 after acquiring an additional 22,325 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,667,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,273,000 after acquiring an additional 194,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1,866.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,221 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

Unilever stock opened at $57.40 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.31. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

About Unilever

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.