Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Purchased by Prospector Partners LLC

Prospector Partners LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 167,503 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive comprises approximately 1.7% of Prospector Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $15,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 682,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,034,000 after acquiring an additional 56,776 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 204,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,546,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 18,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 12,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,494,000 after acquiring an additional 114,855 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of CL opened at $91.75 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The company has a market capitalization of $74.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.20. 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 (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

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.