Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock Position Boosted by Towercrest Capital Management

Towercrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 72.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,987 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the quarter. Towercrest Capital Management’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Swedbank AB grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,246,000 after buying an additional 40,324 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 14,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after buying an additional 3,960 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 111,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,551,000 after buying an additional 17,623 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,133,000. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 14,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 6,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL opened at $90.30 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.07. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $0.87 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 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. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

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.