Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC

Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lessened its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,315,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,066,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $803,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,132,747 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $90.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CL. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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 Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.72.

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.