Simon Quick Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 57.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,117 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,045 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% during the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company's stock worth $233,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353,268 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock worth $629,369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $132,405,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler decreased 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 report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price 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, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded down $2.94 on Friday, reaching $90.20. 5,331,970 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,757,255. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $91.75 and a 200 day moving average of $91.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.