Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 19,000 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 204,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $18,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing 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 fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company's stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:CL traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $92.24. 3,139,218 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,568,713. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $74.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $90.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.80.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. 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 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.