UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 632,653 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,299,989 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 632,653 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.77% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $572,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $1.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $92.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,723,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,669,281. The firm's 50-day moving average is $91.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.24. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. 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 company has a market cap of $75.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CL. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.