Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 304,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,760,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 23,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after buying an additional 7,147 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 10,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 284.9% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 14,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 10,976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $91.75 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $90.27 and its 200-day moving average is $93.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.52 per share. 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. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CL. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

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.