Abacus FCF Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 68.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,421 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,530 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive comprises 1.2% of Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $8,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $1,315,000. Aviva PLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock worth $88,494,000 after buying an additional 114,855 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,066,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $803,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.67.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $2.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.99. 5,664,216 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,582,305. The stock has a market cap of $76.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.57. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.