Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,483 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,688 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE CL opened at $93.65 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.36. The company has a market capitalization of $75.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

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