M&T Bank Corp Lowers Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Unilever by 96.5% in Q4, selling 568,029 shares and leaving 20,628 shares worth $1.349 million.
• Unilever posted a significant earnings miss for the quarter, reporting EPS of $0.75 versus the $1.75 consensus and revenue of $11.87 billion versus $31.39 billion expected.
• Shares opened at $56.92 (down 1.3%), trading near their 1‑year low of $54.95, with a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” and an average target of $65.55; the company pays an annualized dividend of $2.22 (≈3.9% yield).

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 96.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,628 shares of the company's stock after selling 568,029 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Unilever were worth $1,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Unilever by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Unilever by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 35,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,085,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in Unilever by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 15,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $969,000 after buying an additional 4,501 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Unilever by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 378,313 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,141,000 after buying an additional 156,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Unilever by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 427,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,155,000 after buying an additional 63,376 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $56.92 on Thursday. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $54.95 and a 1 year high of $74.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.73.

Unilever (NYSE:UL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Unilever PLC will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid 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 3.9%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 price target on Unilever and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Unilever from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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