Quadrant Capital Group LLC Acquires 26,983 Shares of Unilever PLC $UL

Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 33.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 106,677 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,983 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $6,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,661,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,501,000 after buying an additional 937,346 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Unilever by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,403,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,915,000 after buying an additional 406,610 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its position in Unilever by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,722,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,690,000 after buying an additional 282,076 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 674.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,208,000 after buying an additional 2,433,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp raised its stake in Unilever by 2.4% during the second quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,996,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,057,000 after buying an additional 46,801 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on UL shares. Zacks Research raised Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.37.

Unilever Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $65.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.59. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $54.75 and a 52-week high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($1.25). The firm had revenue of $14.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.80 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unilever PLC will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company headquartered in London, England. It develops, markets and sells branded products used in households and personal care, with operations serving consumers across developed and emerging markets worldwide.

The company’s portfolio includes beauty and wellbeing products, personal care items, home care products, and foods and refreshments. Its brands include Dove, Vaseline, Axe, TRESemmé, Cif, OMO, Persil, Knorr, Hellmann’s and Ben & Jerry’s, although product offerings vary by market.

Unilever was formed in 1929 through the merger of British soap maker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie.