Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Has $545,000 Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 73.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,000 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company's stock worth $7,391,261,000 after buying an additional 588,230 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after purchasing an additional 324,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,447,000 after purchasing an additional 993,328 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised 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 valued at $806,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,604 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL traded up $1.63 on Friday, reaching $91.26. 4,650,320 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,658,290. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.65 and a 200-day moving average of $91.29. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The company has a market capitalization of $73.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.