Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Decreases Stake in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its Unilever stake by 8.7% in Q4, selling 31,729 shares and finishing the period with 333,215 shares worth about $21.79 million.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating on Unilever with a consensus price target of $65.55 (ratings mix: 2 Strong Buy, 2 Buy, 5 Hold, 3 Sell).
• Unilever reported stronger-than-expected Q1 underlying sales and volume growth, launched a €1.5bn share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5449 (annualized $2.18, yield ~3.6%).

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS reduced its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 333,215 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,729 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Unilever were worth $21,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UL. 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 purchasing an additional 2,935,227 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 13,906.2% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,268,300 shares of the company's stock worth $134,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,252,105 shares in the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth $82,461,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company's stock worth $1,336,048,000 after purchasing an additional 959,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 78.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,933,422 shares of the company's stock worth $118,261,000 after purchasing an additional 852,099 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on UL. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.55.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $59.80 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.69. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $54.95 and a 12-month high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The business had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.39 billion. Analysts forecast that Unilever PLC will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.5449 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th.

More Unilever News

Here are the key news stories impacting Unilever this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results outperformed expectations driven by strong volume growth and underlying sales strength — this is cited as the main reason the stock rallied. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unilever reported underlying sales up ~3.8% with volumes +2.9%; management says power brands and emerging-market growth led the quarter — supports revenue momentum and margin leverage. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unilever launched a €1.5bn share buyback concurrent with the Q1 release; buybacks and volume-driven sales growth are supportive for EPS and shareholder returns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Equity analysts at Erste Group raised FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts modestly, reflecting the stronger volume/price mix—this lifts forward earnings expectations. (MarketBeat / analyst note)
• Neutral Sentiment: Seeking Alpha published the Q1 sales/trading call transcript (and a separate slideshow) — provides management commentary and detail on growth drivers and portfolio changes; useful for parsing execution but not a fresh catalyst by itself. Transcript Slideshow
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say KKR is exploring a potential ~$10bn deal for Unilever’s ex-spreads business — a sale would generate cash and sharpen focus, but terms and timing are uncertain so market impact is conditional. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The Wall Street Journal covered Unilever’s underlying-sales rise amid its large portfolio overhaul — confirms strategy but is more contextual than immediately catalytic. Article Title

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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