Schroder Investment Management Group Sells 59,798 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Schroder Investment Management Group trimmed its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,275,084 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,798 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.28% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $206,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $92.73 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.61. The firm has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

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.