Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,448 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,535 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CL. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,028,170,000 after buying an additional 1,784,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,193,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,095,325,000 after purchasing an additional 552,949 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake 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 valued at $988,997,000 after purchasing an additional 557,492 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during 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. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,642,000 after buying an additional 2,674,807 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $86.81 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46. The firm has a market cap of $70.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $82.68 and a 52-week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.