Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Colonial Trust Advisors

Colonial Trust Advisors lowered its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,191 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 63,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 5,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,364,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,812,000 after buying an additional 540,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $90.28 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.80. The firm has a market cap of $73.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG 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. 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 (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.