Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Has $4.92 Million Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,714 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,581 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $4,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Unilever by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,145,000 after acquiring an additional 911,443 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,169,000 after purchasing an additional 22,325 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,667,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,273,000 after purchasing an additional 194,165 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Unilever by 1,866.0% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,221 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 981.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,216 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America raised shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Unilever Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $58.61 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.86 and a 200-day moving average of $59.60.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.4755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%.

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.