NEOS Investment Management LLC Purchases 11,195 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,398 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,195 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $4,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 815,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,159,000 after acquiring an additional 35,315 shares in the last quarter. Moment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $421,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,398,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,040,000 after purchasing an additional 130,770 shares during the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $882,000. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $417,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $93.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.62 and its 200 day moving average is $93.80. The company has a market cap of $75.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, 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 current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost 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 currently 59.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.