Stevens Capital Management LP Has $405,000 Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Stevens Capital Management LP cut its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 49.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,274 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $90.30 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business earned $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CL. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.72.

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.