QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $13.88 Million Holdings in Unilever PLC $UL

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 0.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 226,953 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 833 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $13,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UL. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 13.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,100,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,054 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the first quarter worth $45,413,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 764.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 775,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,185,000 after purchasing an additional 685,848 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the first quarter worth $34,533,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 220.9% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 626,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,284,000 after purchasing an additional 431,005 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. CICC Research began coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $59.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $144.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.46 and its 200-day moving average is $61.61. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $54.32 and a one year high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.5175 dividend. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.31%.

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.