532,923 Shares in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 532,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,448,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.07% of Colgate-Palmolive as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,246,000 after buying an additional 40,324 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 39.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 90,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,345,000 after buying an additional 25,645 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter valued at $64,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 36.9% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 14,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after buying an additional 3,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 53.1% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.30 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase 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 shares are undervalued.

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 $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 56.82%.

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.