Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Invests $9.01 Million in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 99,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,011,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.39.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $90.69. The company had a trading volume of 4,115,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,666,089. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.06. 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 has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.76%.

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.