OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Cuts Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp cut its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,075 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $4,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 943 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the fourth 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 period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,315,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $803,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $87.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The firm has a market cap of $71.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.39.

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.