Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,447 shares of the company’s stock after selling 398 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 55,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,073,000 after acquiring an additional 4,465 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 133.9% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 20,676 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 575,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,290,000 after purchasing an additional 69,982 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $86.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $70.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $82.68 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.76.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 56.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.16.

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.