Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Strategy Asset Managers LLC

Strategy Asset Managers LLC decreased its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 604 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CL. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One 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 MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $92.73 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.70. The company has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board 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.