Phoenix Financial Ltd. Has $235,000 Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,585 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 347 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 588,230 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,868,723,000 after purchasing an additional 324,683 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $912,375,000. Amundi boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,015,000 after buying an additional 1,040,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE:CL opened at $93.99 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a boost 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%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.