AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Buys 1,029,364 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 941.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,138,655 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,029,364 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $103,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CL. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 218,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,632,000 after purchasing an additional 4,372 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 49.3% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,246,000 after purchasing an additional 40,324 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.8% in the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 2,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $86.10 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $83.20 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.69 and a 200-day moving average of $96.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.41.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.16.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.