Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 10,500 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 132,701 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,500 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $12,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $90.91 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.95. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $73.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 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 company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CL. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

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.