Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $62.44 Million Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 686,858 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,948 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $62,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE CL opened at $89.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $72.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CL. Citigroup lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.39.

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.