9,700 Shares in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Purchased by United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought 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 and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CL. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $89.52 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $89.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.82. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $72.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its 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 return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

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.