Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Decreases Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 967,333 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,030 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.12% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $87,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $1,315,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,066,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $803,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position 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 worth $793,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.91 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $73.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.95. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 56.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

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.