T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 5,014 Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock worth $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 43,957 shares of the company's stock worth $4,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.0% during the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 5,500 shares of the company's stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.0% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 5,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $752,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $93.90 on Monday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The company has a market capitalization of $76.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $92.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.12.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. 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 yield of 2.22%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.17.

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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