Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Invests $399,000 in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 526.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 749.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 61,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 54,369 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 36.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 954,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,094,000 after purchasing an additional 257,361 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 111.3% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 55,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,746,000 after purchasing an additional 29,157 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL opened at $93.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.80. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G 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, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

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.