UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Purchases 35,315 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 815,737 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,315 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd owned about 0.10% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $74,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 2.7 %

CL stock opened at $92.05 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.81. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The company has a market capitalization of $74.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CL. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

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.