532,923 Shares in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 532,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,448,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $90.30 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.27. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The firm has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly 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 posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lowered 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.