Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 12,365 Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,124,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 1.5 %

CL opened at $89.52 on Wednesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $89.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.82. The company has a market cap of $72.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CL. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.72.

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.