Aua Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Aua Capital Management bought a new stake in Unilever in Q4—19,539 shares valued at roughly $1.28 million, per the firm's latest 13F filing.
• Unilever is accelerating a pivot into beauty/wellbeing by agreeing to buy U.S. supplements brand Grüns and is discussing a strategic separation of its foods business, moves that have drawn both analyst upgrades and competitive scrutiny.
• The company recently missed quarterly EPS ($0.75 vs. $1.75 expected), analyst sentiment is mixed with an average rating of “Hold” and a $65.55 average price target, and Unilever paid a $0.5547 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.22, ~3.8% yield).

Aua Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,278,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Unilever by 9.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company's stock worth $2,054,973,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935,227 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 4.4% in 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 buying an additional 959,269 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Unilever by 1.6% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,773,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $342,261,000 after buying an additional 91,049 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Unilever by 3.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,001,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,183,000 after buying an additional 133,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 0.5% during the third 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on UL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Argus upgraded Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Unilever from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.55.

Key Stories Impacting Unilever

Here are the key news stories impacting Unilever this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unilever agreed to buy U.S. supplements brand Grüns, signaling a clear push into beauty/wellbeing categories and building its nutrition/wellness footprint — a strategic fit for UL’s transition away from mainstream foods. Unilever to buy supplements brand Grüns With A $1.2 Billion Sale To Unilever
• Positive Sentiment: DZ Bank upgraded UL from "hold" to "strong-buy", which can support the stock by validating management’s strategy and attracting buyers. DZ Bank upgrade / TickerReport
• Positive Sentiment: Analysis arguing the market is undervaluing Unilever’s shift to a higher‑quality HPC business suggests upside if the transition executes — a bullish narrative for longer‑term holders. Unilever: Market Undervaluing Its Transition
• Neutral Sentiment: Management continues to discuss a strategic separation of the foods business as part of the pivot to HPC — a transformational move that creates clarity but also execution risk and transitional costs. Strategic separation transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitors are taking note: McCormick’s CEO framed the food deals as competitive on flavour, underscoring that UL’s food moves will invite pushback and intensified competition in certain segments. McCormick CEO on Unilever food deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative analyses versus peers (e.g., Henkel) are circulating, giving investors more context on valuation and margin paths but not delivering a clear consensus. Critical Analysis: Unilever versus Henkel
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group cut earnings estimates for Unilever, and broader skepticism about near‑term earnings (including the company’s recent quarterly EPS miss) is pressuring the stock — analysts trimming forecasts is a direct headwind for shares. Erste Group Lowers Earnings Estimates

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE UL opened at $58.35 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.95 and a 52 week high of $74.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.53.

Unilever (NYSE:UL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($1.00). The firm had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.39 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.5547 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

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.

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