1620 Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 312 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 40.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,091 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $99,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 7,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 121,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,068,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after buying an additional 7,592 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 12,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after buying an additional 3,345 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,041,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,723,000 after buying an additional 201,274 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.33 and its 200 day moving average is $94.27. 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 has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. 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. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CL. UBS Group cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

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.