Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 588,230 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.95% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $7,391,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the fourth 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. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.30 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.33 and a 200 day moving average of $94.07. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. 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 is currently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has an average 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.