United Services Automobile Association Boosts Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

United Services Automobile Association boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 252,925 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $22,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,246,000 after buying an additional 40,324 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 36.9% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 14,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 3,960 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 111,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,551,000 after acquiring an additional 17,623 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,133,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 14,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 6,224 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.07. The stock has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.