United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Has $9.39 Million Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 37.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 103,308 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,884 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $9,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $1,868,723,000 after buying an additional 324,683 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $912,375,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $94.31 on Wednesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.53. The firm has a market cap of $76.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CL. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.67.

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.