APG Asset Management N.V. Has $119.81 Million Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 65.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,364,701 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 540,359 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $119,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $89.21 on Tuesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $90.23 and its 200 day moving average is $93.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $72.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a PEG 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 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.