Vident Advisory LLC Buys 17,919 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 89.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,994 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,919 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353,268 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,865 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE CL opened at $91.96 on Wednesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.71 and its 200-day moving average is $91.26. The firm has a market cap of $74.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans 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 issued 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 was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CL. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.