CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Buys 15,747 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 916,683 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,747 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.11% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $83,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CL. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $1,010,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $24,830,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 490.4% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 415,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,743,000 after buying an additional 344,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $454,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL stock traded down $3.00 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.81. The stock had a trading volume of 3,329,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,597,936. The stock's 50 day moving average is $91.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.30. The firm has a market cap of $75.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.