Man Group plc Acquires 29,994 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 532,849 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 29,994 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.07% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $48,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company's stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $87.69 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 58.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.39.

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.

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