Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Acquires 32,582 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 104.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,684 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,582 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% during 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 last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $132,405,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,598,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,501,161. The company has a market capitalization 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 current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $91.92 and a 200 day moving average of $92.27. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 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 the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.