AIA Group Ltd Sells 19,197 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

AIA Group Ltd lessened its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 437,143 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,197 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for 1.0% of AIA Group Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $39,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL stock opened at $92.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, 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 has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $89.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.52.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change 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 is currently 59.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CL. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.