Royal Bank of Canada Has $460.96 Million Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,070,517 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 488,404 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.62% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $460,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company's stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock worth $88,494,000 after purchasing an additional 114,855 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $803,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $311,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.96. 3,941,718 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,654,901. The company has a market capitalization of $74.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G 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 current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.26.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CL. 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.12.

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.