9,700 Shares in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Bought by United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $89.52 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 56.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.