Premier Fund Managers Ltd Purchases 37,843 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 367.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,141 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,843 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $4,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CL. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 46,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,943 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 456,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 53,942 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 880,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,013,000 after purchasing an additional 28,322 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 49,810.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 102,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,347,000 after buying an additional 102,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $912,375,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.3 %

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $93.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.62 and a 200 day moving average of $93.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $75.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board 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 paid a $0.52 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average 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.