Unilever PLC Share Price Outlook: What to Watch Before Market Open on 1 December 2025

As investors get ready for trading on Monday, 1 December 2025, Unilever PLC (LON: ULVR, NYSE: UL) sits at the centre of several powerful storylines: a looming Magnum Ice Cream spin‑off, potential sales of famous British pantry brands, and a split analyst community that’s broadly constructive but still cautious.

Here’s a detailed look at how Unilever’s share price is positioned going into the new week, based on the latest news, forecasts and analysis published between 28–30 November 2025.

Unilever share price heading into Monday’s open

On Friday, 28 November:

London (ULVR)
Unilever’s primary London listing ended the session at around 4,544p, up roughly 0.5% on the day, after trading between about 4,505p and 4,562p. ^[1]
Amsterdam (ULVR, EUR)
In Amsterdam, Unilever closed at €52.02, also up 0.5%, on volume of about 1.67 million shares, with a day range of €51.54–€52.24. ^[2]
New York ADR (UL)
The U.S. ADR finished Friday at $60.59, with an intraday range of $60.24–$60.73 and volume just over 4.2 millionshares. ^[3]

That leaves the ADR trading within a 12‑month band of roughly $54.32–$65.66, according to MarketBeat, with the 50‑day moving average near $60.45 and the 200‑day at $61.42. ^[4] In London, MarketBeat data put the 52‑week range for ULVR at 4,311p–4,910p with a price/earnings (P/E) ratio of about 20.2 on the local listing. ^[5]

Earlier in the week, Unilever shares had underperformed the FTSE 100 — for example, “Unilever slides Monday”highlighted a 1.37% drop to around £45.22 on 24 November, roughly 8% below the April 52‑week high, on heavier‑than‑usual volume. ^[6] The modest rebound into Friday suggests sentiment has stabilised ahead of a crucial December packed with corporate events.

Latest analyst ratings and price targets (28–30 November)

Bank of America stays bullish

On 28 November, Insider Monkey and Finviz reported that Bank of America Securities analyst Antoine Prevot reiterated a Buy rating on Unilever and set a 5,400p price target on the London shares. ^[7]

Bank of America’s bullish stance rests on:

Q3 2025 performance: Underlying sales growth of 3.9%, with 1.5% volume growth (4.0% and 1.7% excluding Ice Cream), and Power Brands growing 4.4% with 1.7% volume. ^[8]
Broad‑based strength across all business groups and a visible pickup in China and Indonesia. ^[9]
The expectation that the Magnum Ice Cream Company spin‑off will leave a “simpler” Unilever with a structurally higher margin profile. ^[10]

Street consensus: London “Hold”, U.S. ADR “Moderate Buy”

On the London line, MarketBeat’s forecast page for ULVR, updated with data to 28 November, shows: ^[11]

Consensus rating: Hold
Analyst split: 3 Sell, 3 Buy (no formal “Hold” ratings, but the mix averages out to Hold)
Average 12‑month target: 4,690p
Target range: 3,800p–5,700p, implying modest upside (a bit over 3% from around 4,544p).

A separate MarketBeat piece on 27 November reiterated the same consensus, adding that ULVR was trading near 4,521pwith a market cap of about £110.9 billion, a P/E around 20.2, and a very low beta of 0.22, underlining Unilever’s “low‑volatility” profile. ^[12]

For the U.S. ADR (UL), MarketBeat’s institutional‑ownership coverage over 29–30 November repeatedly references a “Moderate Buy” consensus:

Rating mix: about 2 Strong Buy, 4 Buy, 2 Hold, 2 Sell
Average price target: $73.00 per ADR, implying roughly 20% upside from Friday’s $60.59 close. ^[13]

Meanwhile, StockInvest’s earnings dashboard shows a higher P/E of ~33.7 for the ADR (on its own trailing‑earnings methodology) and notes next earnings are scheduled for 11 February 2026 before the U.S. market open. ^[14]This divergence in P/E between London (≈20x) and one U.S. calculation (≈34x) mainly reflects different reporting bases and the impact of earlier one‑off items.

Credit quality remains strong

On the funding side, Morningstar DBRS in mid‑November confirmed issuer ratings of A (high) with Stable trends on Unilever PLC and Unilever Finance Netherlands B.V., signalling that rating agencies view the balance sheet as robust even amid restructuring and spin‑off activity. ^[15]

Magnum Ice Cream spin‑off and share consolidation: the key near‑term catalyst

The single biggest structural driver for Unilever’s share price in early December is the imminent demerger of its ice-cream arm into The Magnum Ice Cream Company N.V. (TMICC).

Timeline and mechanics

From Unilever’s Q3 2025 results and demerger documentation:

The Ice Cream Business Group has been operating as a standalone company within Unilever since 1 July 2025 under the Magnum Ice Cream Company banner. ^[16]
Unilever reconfirmed that it expects the Ice Cream Demerger to complete in Q4 2025 and that ice cream will be reported as a discontinued operation from Q4. ^[17]
Qualifying shareholders and ADS holders will receive one TMICC share for every five Unilever shares or ADSs held at the demerger record time, while retaining their existing Unilever stake. ^[18]

A later timetable update, summarised by index provider Solactive, confirms that: ^[19]

The ex‑date for the Magnum spin‑off is now expected to be 8 December 2025.
TMICC shares will start trading on Euronext Amsterdam and the London Stock Exchange on the same day.
From that date, Unilever shares will be quoted “ex‑Spin‑Off” in London and Amsterdam.

Unilever has also signalled that it intends to consolidate its share capital after the demerger to keep per‑share metrics (price, EPS, DPS) comparable pre‑ and post‑spin. The exact consolidation ratio has not yet been fixed; the shareholder circular explains it will be set around the time of the demerger based on the relative price of Unilever shares before and after the spin‑off. ^[20]

Magnum’s €3 billion bond issue

On 26 November, Reuters reported that the Magnum Ice Cream Company had successfully placed a €3.0 billion debut bond issue, equivalent to about $3.48 billion, split into four tranches maturing between 2029 and 2037 with coupons from 2.75% to 4%. Demand was robust, with the book oversubscribed roughly seven times. ^[21]

Magnum said net proceeds will support “general corporate purposes” and help facilitate the demerger, which is due to be completed on 6 December, with trading in the new shares to begin on 8 December. ^[22]

For Unilever shareholders heading into Monday’s session, the takeaways are:

The spin‑off is now locked into a specific early‑December timetable after prior delays linked to the U.S. federal government shutdown. ^[23]
Magnum appears to have solid independent market access, which reduces execution risk around the separation.
Short‑term price volatility is likely around the 8 December ex‑date as indices, ETFs and arbitrage desks rebalance to reflect the new structure.

Strategy shift: brand disposals and focus on higher-growth categories

In the background, Unilever continues re‑shaping its portfolio.

Possible sale of Marmite, Bovril and Colman’s

Reuters reported on 20 November that Unilever is considering the sale of some of its most iconic British food brands, including Marmite, Bovril and Colman’s, as part of a broader push to exit slower‑growing food businesses and lean more heavily into beauty, wellbeing and home/personal care. ^[24]

This lines up with the strategy reiterated in the Q3 release, which highlights: ^[25]

Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care as key growth engines.
A productivity programme targeting €800 million of savings (about €650 million expected by end‑2025, with the rest in 2026). ^[26]
Continued portfolio sharpening, including the acquisition of Dr. Squatch and the sale of The Vegetarian Butcher. ^[27]

An options‑and‑flow‑focused note from AInvest on 28 November described Unilever’s latest 0.65% share price rally alongside a roughly $0.25 billion volume spike, framing it as part of a “strategic overhaul” under CEO Fernando Fernandez. The piece highlighted ongoing divestitures of non‑core brands and emphasised that JP Morgan’s “Overweight” rating and institutional buying suggest confidence in the company’s asset reallocation. ^[28]

Fresh institutional‑flow signals (29–30 November)

A cluster of 13F‑based articles on 29–30 November shows a flurry of second‑quarter moves by U.S. institutional investors in Unilever ADRs:

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake by 8.0%, adding 120,004 shares to bring its holding to roughly 1.62 million shares (about 0.07% of Unilever), valued near $99.2 million. ^[29]
Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. (GMO) more than tripled its position, boosting holdings by 215.4% to about 407,449 shares worth around $24.9 million. ^[30]
Global Retirement Partners LLC opened a new position of 9,692 shares (about $593,000). ^[31]
In contrast, Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake by 10.8% to 34,197 shares, worth about $2.09 million. ^[32]

Across these filings, MarketBeat estimates that institutional investors account for roughly 9.7% of Unilever’s outstanding ADRs. ^[33]

None of these flows are transformational on their own, but together they paint a picture of:

Net incremental interest among some sophisticated asset managers (JPMorgan, GMO, various RIAs).
A continued institutional presence that could provide liquidity — and potential support — around volatile events like the Magnum spin‑off.

Options commentary over 28–29 November also points to elevated call‑option activity, with some analysts interpreting this as moderately bullish positioning ahead of December catalysts. ^[34]

Fundamentals check: Q3 2025 performance and dividend

Unilever’s underlying fundamentals remain the anchor for any pre‑open assessment:

Q3 2025 underlying sales growth: 3.9%, driven by 1.5% volume and 2.4% price, despite FX and disposal headwinds that dragged reported turnover down 3.5% to €14.7 billion. ^[35]
Power Brands: Underlying sales up 4.4%, with 1.7% volume and 2.6% pricing, underscoring the strength of key franchises like Dove, Knorr and Magnum. ^[36]
Geography: Developed markets grew 3.7% with 2.7% volume, while emerging markets delivered 4.1% USG but with more reliance on pricing. North America stood out with 5.5% underlying sales growth and 5.4% volume. ^[37]
2025 outlook: Management reiterated full‑year underlying sales growth guidance of 3–5%, expecting H2 growth to outpace H1 and confirming that the Magnum spin‑off should not derail the Q4 dividend. ^[38]

The Q3 press release also notes that the Q3 dividend per share rose 3% year‑on‑year to €0.4528, and that Unilever still anticipates paying its Q4 2025 dividend in full despite the demerger. ^[39] For income‑oriented investors, external dividend trackers currently put the forward yield on Unilever’s Amsterdam line at roughly 3.4–3.5%, broadly consistent with its recent history. ^[40]

What could move Unilever shares on 1 December 2025?

Going into Monday’s session, there is no major earnings release or capital‑markets day scheduled for 1 December, and the next big hard catalyst remains the Magnum spin‑off window (6–8 December). Still, several factors could influence trading at the open and through the week:

Positioning around the spin‑off
- With a firm ex‑date of 8 December, some investors may start rebalancing in advance, either to capture TMICC shares or to trim exposure ahead of the structural change. ^[41]
- Index funds tracking benchmarks that include Unilever could also begin anticipatory adjustments, adding to short‑term volume.
Follow‑through from late‑November buying and selling
- The fresh JPMorgan, GMO and Global Retirement Partners purchases and the Advisors Asset Management trim all reference prices around $60–61 for UL; if the stock gaps significantly away from that area, it may test the conviction of those flows. ^[42]
Ongoing newsflow on disposals and portfolio reshaping
- Any confirmation or denial of a potential sale of Marmite, Bovril, Colman’s or other food brands could affect how investors value Unilever’s future growth and margin mix. ^[43]
Macro backdrop
- Unilever remains a defensive consumer‑staples name, so moves in bond yields, inflation expectations and the broader FTSE 100 and S&P 500 could matter nearly as much as company‑specific headlines in the very short term.
- Recent OPEC+ decisions to hold oil output steady and any associated commodity price moves could also influence margin expectations for packaged‑goods groups like Unilever. ^[44]

Overall, analysts’ average 12‑month price targets — 4,690p in London and $73 in New York — imply modest to mid‑teens upside from current levels, but the wide dispersion between the lowest and highest targets shows that Street views still diverge on how much value the Magnum spin‑off and portfolio reshaping will ultimately unlock. ^[45]

Bottom line

Heading into the 1 December 2025 market open, Unilever’s share price story is dominated less by day‑to‑day trading noise and more by three structural themes:

A near‑term Magnum Ice Cream Company spin‑off and subsequent share consolidation that will change the shape — and optics — of the group.
A deliberate shift toward higher‑growth beauty, wellbeing and personal‑care categories, with potential disposals of legacy food brands like Marmite and Bovril.
A split but gradually warming analyst and institutional stance, with Bank of America and others openly bullish, consensus targets above current prices, and several big investors increasing exposure while others fine‑tune positions.

For investors and traders watching the open on Monday, Unilever PLC and its ADR look set to remain actively traded, but not yet overheated, as the market weighs the value of an ex‑ice‑cream Unilever against the risk and opportunity of one of the most closely watched European spin‑offs of the year.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions.

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