Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stake Lessened by Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC

Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the 4th quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,584,000 after buying an additional 2,353,268 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $132,405,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CL opened at $93.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.17. 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 $76.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.09%.

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.