Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 627,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,675 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $57,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.1 %

CL opened at $93.84 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $76.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.78.

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.