Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 60.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,277,841 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 482,741 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for approximately 0.8% of Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $116,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 100,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,166,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares during the period. Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $1,534,000. Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $1,646,000. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 89.3% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 37,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 17,919 shares during the period. Finally, Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $91.72 on Tuesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock has a market cap of $74.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.12.

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.