Vise Technologies Inc. Raises Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 64.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,586 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,883 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL opened at $92.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The company has a market capitalization of $75.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.76%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CL. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.12.

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.