1. Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
Dividend Yield (as of March 8): 4.58%
Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) tops our list of consumer stocks that pay dividends, with a 4.58% yield as of March 8. The firm makes and sells a wide variety of consumer products around the world, and is based in London, UK.
As of the fourth quarter, 23 hedge funds held positions in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL), with a combined value of $1.78 billion. This shows increasing investor confidence from last quarter, where 17 hedge funds were bullish on the company shares. Gardner Russo & Gardner held a $457.28 million stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) at the end of Q4 2021, consisting of 8.5 million shares which made it the largest shareholder of the firm.
In late February, Goldman Sachs analyst John Ennis reinstated coverage of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) with a ‘Neutral’ rating and price target of 4,200 GBp price target, which represented an upside of 8%. Analyst James Edwardes Jones of RBC Capital had a ‘Sector Perform’ rating on Unilever shares with a price target of 3,600 GBp, noting that he foresees lower capital expenditure and improved business performances for the firm heading forward.
On March 8, Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) announced that it had suspended all imports and exports of products to and from Russia, whilst also ceasing all advertising expenditures in the country.
Fundsmith LLP, an investment firm, talked about Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in its Q4 2021 investor letter. Here’s what the fund said:
“Unilever seems to be labouring under the weight of a management which is obsessed with publicly displaying sustainability credentials at the expense of focusing on the fundamentals of the business. The most obvious manifestation of this is the public spat it has become embroiled in over the refusal to supply Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in the West Bank. However, we think there are far more ludicrous examples which illustrate the problem. A company which feels it has to define the purpose of Hellmann’s mayonnaise has in our view clearly lost the plot. The Hellmann’s brand has existed since 1913 so we would guess that by now consumers have figured out its purpose (spoiler alert — salads and sandwiches). Although Unilever had by far the worst performance of our consumer staples stocks during the pandemic we continue to hold the shares because we think that its strong brands and distribution will triumph in the end.”
You can also take a look at 10 Best Dividend Stocks for Passive Income and 10 Best Gold Stocks To Buy Now.
