Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,680,725 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 226,377 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.21% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $152,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after acquiring an additional 588,230 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,868,723,000 after purchasing an additional 324,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,447,000 after buying an additional 993,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 1.0%

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $89.91 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.47. The stock has a market cap of $72.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company 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 positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.39.

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.