Stifel Financial Corp Purchases 60,266 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,076,478 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,266 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.62% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $461,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.90. 9,598,477 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,668,637. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $91.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.27. The company has a market cap of $76.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management 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.