Allianz SE Makes New Investment in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 95,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,645,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE CL opened at $92.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.70.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released 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 return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

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.