BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Has $35.37 Million Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 70.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 389,020 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 160,340 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $35,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after buying an additional 324,683 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $912,375,000. Amundi raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake 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. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL opened at $95.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $91.31 and its 200-day moving average is $92.43. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CL. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.17.

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.