Groupama Asset Managment Acquires 17,788 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 127.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,767 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,788 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 73.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 4,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 324,683 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 63,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,539,000 after acquiring an additional 5,705 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 16,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 395,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,909,000 after purchasing an additional 17,267 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $93.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $76.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $89.91 and its 200 day moving average is $93.35.

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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CL. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.78.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.