Capula Management Ltd Invests $374,000 in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Capula Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $374,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $89.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $72.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.04.

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, topping 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.