Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS decreased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 546,503 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,686 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS owned approximately 0.07% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $49,683,000 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. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:CL opened at $93.25 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $75.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.80.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.06.

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.