Bridgewater Associates LP Has $13.66 Million Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 75.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 456,387 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $13,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.67.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.8 %

CL stock opened at $93.48 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.