Quantbot Technologies LP Takes Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,124,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $89.52 on Wednesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.82. The firm has a market cap of $72.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.