Axa S.A. Grows Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Axa S.A. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 25.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 522,058 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,913 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $47,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during 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. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $752,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $103,514,000 after acquiring an additional 46,944 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 32.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.39.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $90.42 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $92.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.85. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.