Axa S.A. Raises Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 522,058 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 106,913 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned about 0.06% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $47,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company's stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company's stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.1 %

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $90.88. 4,401,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,640,057. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $92.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.71. The company has a market capitalization of $73.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Colgate-Palmolive's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. 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 2.29%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CL. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.39.

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.