Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Makes New $2.83 Million Investment in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 31,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,828,000.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.3 %

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $93.25 on Friday. 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 has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $89.62 and its 200-day moving average is $93.80. The company has a market cap of $75.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted 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 firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.