NewEdge Advisors LLC Buys 344,845 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 490.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 415,168 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 344,845 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $37,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company's stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $2.00 on Friday, reaching $95.49. 7,029,569 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,590,228. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $91.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.43. 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 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.