Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Acquires Shares of 36,820 Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 36,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,347,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,391,261,000 after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,868,723,000 after buying an additional 324,683 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $912,375,000. Amundi lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,604 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $94.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $77.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.51. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.67.

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.