Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Holdings Lifted by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 832,049 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,926 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for 1.3% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG owned 0.10% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $75,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company's stock worth $233,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,268 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock worth $793,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $132,405,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL traded up $1.20 on Friday, reaching $93.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,598,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,668,637. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $91.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.27. The stock has a market cap of $76.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.