Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 7,849 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,918 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,849 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $6,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% during the 4th quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353,268 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,865 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $91.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.29.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. Research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 58.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. 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. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.