Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen International Growth Strategy” fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The strategy rose 15.23% (net of fees) in the fourth quarter compared to a 9.75% return for the MSCI ACWI (ex-USA) index. Investor sentiment hit its lowest point in October, paving the way for a strong rally in the final months of the year. Quarterly portfolio performance was driven by share price appreciation in the information technology, healthcare, and consumer discretionary sectors. For the full year, the strategy appreciated 27.73% (net of fees) compared to a 15.62% return for the index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Polen International Growth Strategy featured stocks like Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in London, the United Kingdom, Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) is a fast-moving consumer goods company. On March 5, 2024, Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) stock closed at $49.04 per share. One-month return of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) was 0.29%, and its shares gained 0.39% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) has a market capitalization of $122.861 billion.
Polen International Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) was a relative underperformer during the fourth quarter though this underperformance appears to us to be less a factor of any specific fundamental issues with the company. Rather, it seems more a result of consumer staples companies like Unilever underperforming during a quarter in which the broad market rallied sharply through much of November and December.
UK-based Unilever, among the largest consumer goods companies in the world, has navigated the last few years well. During the post-COVID inflation surge, Unilever’s brands enjoyed consistent pricing power and delivered higher-than-average revenue growth. Recently, signs of softening consumer spending have appeared. Inflation measures are now softening, and at the margin, consumers are switching away from branded goods in favor of generic products. Considering decelerating growth, we trimmed our Unilever position and added to Medtronic.”
Emilio100 / Shutterstock.com
Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) was held by 25 hedge fund portfolios, up from 21 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in another article and shared the list of best diversified dividend stocks to invest in. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
Suggested Articles:
- 13 Best Dividend Stocks For Rising Interest Rates
- 14 Countries with Costco in the World
- 15 Countries with Most Car Exports in the World
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
