Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $85.72 Million Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 66.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 942,870 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 377,900 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.12% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $85,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CL. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,494,000 after acquiring an additional 114,855 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $1,315,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $4,066,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $803,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.90. 9,598,477 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,650,301. The stock has a market cap of $76.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. 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 firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 59.09%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.17.

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.