Moment Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Moment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 14,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 3,960 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 526.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 15.7% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 749.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 61,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,397,000 after buying an additional 54,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 12,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $92.05 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $89.52 and its 200-day moving average is $93.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. 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. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

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.