Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $100.52 Million Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 107.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,072,742 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 555,216 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $100,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,494,000 after buying an additional 114,855 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $311,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $304,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 685,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,339,000 after acquiring an additional 15,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,974,000 after acquiring an additional 3,187 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 3.2%

NYSE CL traded down $2.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $90.20. The stock had a trading volume of 5,331,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,757,255. The company has a market capitalization of $73.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The company's 50-day moving average price is $91.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.07. 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 (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.12.

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.