Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Holdings Lowered by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co cut its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 314 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $4,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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 MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL opened at $90.91 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.