Sarasin & Partners LLP Acquires 336,737 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,874,593 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 336,737 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive comprises 3.9% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned about 0.48% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $363,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviva PLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock worth $88,494,000 after purchasing an additional 114,855 shares during the period. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $311,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $304,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% during the 4th 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. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.8% during the 4th 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 Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.02. The company had a trading volume of 5,353,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,740,439. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50 day moving average is $91.63 and its 200-day moving average is $91.13.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board 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 repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.