Baxter Bros Inc. Decreases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Baxter Bros Inc. lowered its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 738 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $90.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.95. The firm has a market cap of $73.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. 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. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.