Advisors Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 179,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,338,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of 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, StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 2.1 %

CL traded up $2.00 on Friday, hitting $95.49. The company had a trading volume of 7,029,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,591,385. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day moving average price is $91.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.48. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. 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 $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.09%.

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.