ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 61,068 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,018,043 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 61,068 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.25% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $183,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.39.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $87.69 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.38. The company has a market capitalization of $71.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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