Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Decreases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC reduced its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after buying an additional 588,230 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,028,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784,411 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after acquiring an additional 324,683 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $912,375,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,604 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $93.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $89.91 and a 200 day moving average of $93.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.78.

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.