Two Sigma Advisers LP Buys 126,300 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 283.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,900 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 126,300 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $15,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after acquiring an additional 324,683 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company's stock worth $863,447,000 after acquiring an additional 993,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company's stock worth $806,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,604 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $91.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The company has a market cap of $74.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $91.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.27.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on CL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.12.

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.

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