World Investment Advisors Buys 2,239 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,487 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,239 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL opened at $91.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The company has a market capitalization of $74.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.13. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30.

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, 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase 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.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.