Forum Financial Management LP Purchases 1,088 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,513 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $1,229,000. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $792,000. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,192,000. Finally, Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,283,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.9%

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $92.67 on Monday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $91.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.12.

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.