Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,398,112 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 130,770 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $126,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL opened at $93.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.62 and a 200-day moving average of $93.80. The company has a market cap of $75.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 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 (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 last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 given a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

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.