Prospect Financial Group LLC Purchases Shares of 2,553 Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Prospect Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.