Prudential PLC Decreases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Prudential PLC lowered its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 96,747 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,658 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $8,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $91.75 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock has a market cap of $74.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.06.

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.