Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 146 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Cannell & Spears LLC lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 333,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $30,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (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 issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL opened at $92.73 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.69 and a 200-day moving average of $93.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30.

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, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.