Guardian Partners Inc. Makes New $306,000 Investment in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CL. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $48,448,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,917,000. Umpqua Bank grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,040,000 after purchasing an additional 24,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.30 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $89.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.07. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.