Optimize Financial Inc Purchases New Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353,268 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,405,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE CL opened at $93.99 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $90.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.24 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 earned $0.87 EPS. Equities 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 share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.67.

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.