J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Increases Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 832,049 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,926 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive comprises approximately 1.3% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned approximately 0.10% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $75,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.90. The stock had a trading volume of 9,598,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,661,866. The firm has a market cap of $76.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.07 and a 200-day moving average of $92.23. 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 (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CL shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.17.

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.