QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 33,710 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 29.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 148,886 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,710 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $8,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Unilever by 423.8% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on UL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Unilever in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Unilever from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.33.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock traded down $0.50 on Friday, reaching $60.44. The company had a trading volume of 4,222,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,834,799. The firm has a market cap of $151.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.80. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.16 and a 1 year high of $62.65.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.4773 per share. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.41%.

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.