Eldred Rock Partners LLC Has $9.56 Million Stake in Unilever PLC $UL

Eldred Rock Partners LLC cut its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,405 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,066 shares during the quarter. Unilever accounts for about 2.5% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $9,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,973,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935,227 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Unilever by 4.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,048,000 after purchasing an additional 959,269 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Unilever by 1.6% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,773,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,261,000 after purchasing an additional 91,049 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unilever by 3.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,001,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,183,000 after purchasing an additional 133,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,293,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,221,000 after purchasing an additional 17,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Unilever News

Here are the key news stories impacting Unilever this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded Unilever to a Buy, highlighting upside potential from strategic moves and portfolio repositioning — this provides some analyst-driven support. Unilever (UL) Gets a Buy from TD Cowen
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage noting expected volume recovery points to improving underlying demand dynamics, a bullish signal if Unilever can convert volume gains into margin recovery. Unilever (UL) Supported by Expected Volume Growth Recovery
• Positive Sentiment: Unilever and McCormick struck a major deal to build a ~$20B flavor business — strategic scale in flavors could unlock value and synergies over time, which some investors view as constructive. McCormick strikes mega deal with Unilever to build $20 billion flavor giant
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Fernando Fernandez is refocusing the company on higher‑margin health & beauty categories, a strategic pivot that investors may view as improving long‑term growth and margins. Unilever CEO Fernandez returns his roots with health and beauty makeover
• Neutral Sentiment: Unilever hosted a shareholder/analyst call with slides — useful for modeling and guidance details but not an immediate catalyst without new guidance or surprises. Unilever PLC (UL) Shareholder/Analyst Call – Slideshow
• Neutral Sentiment: Deutsche Bank maintained a Hold on Unilever — a lukewarm stance that is unlikely to spur buying but tempers downside from more negative downgrades. Deutsche Bank Remains a Hold on Unilever (ULVR)
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies reiterated a Sell rating, adding direct downward pressure by signaling continued concern about valuation and near‑term performance. Jefferies Sticks to Their Sell Rating for Unilever (ULVR)
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Unilever has instigated a global hiring freeze for at least three months signal caution on costs and growth, which investors often interpret as a sign of near‑term pressure. Unilever starts global hiring freeze for at least three months, Reuters reports
• Negative Sentiment: Some investment banks called the McCormick-Foods spin/merger structure “not compelling value,” and analysts are split — this investor skepticism has already driven volatile selling in related shares. Unilever-McCormick deal ‘not compelling value’ but ‘makes sense’, say investment banks

Unilever Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE UL opened at $55.46 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.06. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $54.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The firm had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.39 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.5547 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on UL shares. Argus upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $60.10 price objective on Unilever and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. DZ Bank cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Unilever from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 target price on shares of Unilever and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.55.

Unilever Company Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.