Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,190 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $4,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.1 %

CL opened at $95.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.30. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $77.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CL shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. 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 research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.17.

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.