Alta Advisers Ltd Buys 470 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,770 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 470 shares during the quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,494,000 after purchasing an additional 114,855 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $1,315,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $4,066,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $803,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.1 %

CL stock opened at $95.76 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $91.63 and its 200-day moving average is $92.30. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 (NYSE:CL) last posted 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.17.

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.