Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock Position Boosted by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,029 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,979 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.39.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL opened at $89.91 on Friday. 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 has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.58. The stock has a market cap of $72.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.76%.

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.