Umpqua Bank Buys 533 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Umpqua Bank increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,433 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $90.30 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.27. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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 $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 dividend yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.