Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Bought by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,070,517 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 488,404 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.62% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $460,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the 4th quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,268 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock worth $793,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock worth $629,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CL. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL traded down $0.77 on Thursday, hitting $90.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,044,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,643,338. The company's 50-day moving average is $91.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.27. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $73.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.