Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Increases Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 113.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,966 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 68,432 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $11,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CL. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% during the 4th 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 period. Aviva PLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 114,855 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $1,315,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $4,066,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $803,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.90. 9,598,477 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,650,301. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month 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. The stock has a market cap of $76.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $92.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.12.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.