Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Grows Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,029 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,979 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,514,000 after acquiring an additional 46,944 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:CL opened at $89.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30.

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

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

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.39.

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.