Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $6.45 Million Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,918 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,849 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $6,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,745,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,018,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,460,000 after purchasing an additional 61,068 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 252,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,964,000 after buying an additional 75,989 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 91,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,292,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $1,096,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL traded down $0.32 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,569,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,653,187. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The firm has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $91.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.26. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during 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%. Colgate-Palmolive's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.