Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd Increases Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,957 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $4,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $289,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 20,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 31,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,884,000 after acquiring an additional 17,788 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 73.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 4,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after purchasing an additional 324,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $93.95 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $89.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.35. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.78.

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.