21,087 Shares in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Purchased by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 21,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,917,000. Colgate-Palmolive makes up 0.9% of AXQ Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $348,718,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,807 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,268 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,028,170,000 after buying an additional 1,784,411 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $90.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.33 and a 200 day moving average of $94.27. 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 $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

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.