USA Financial Formulas Sells 12,792 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

USA Financial Formulas lessened its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 84.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,334 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,792 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas’ holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,028,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784,411 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,193,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,325,000 after purchasing an additional 552,949 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,526,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,997,000 after purchasing an additional 557,492 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,785,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,465,000 after purchasing an additional 61,413 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total value of $4,273,535.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,726 shares in the company, valued at $3,456,283.86. The trade was a 55.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.11.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $88.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $79.69 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.85.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.31%.

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.