Massachusetts Wealth Management Sells 500 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Massachusetts Wealth Management reduced its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CL. State Street Corp increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,028,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,193,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,095,325,000 after buying an additional 552,949 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 6.2% during 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 buying an additional 557,492 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,642,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674,807 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CL. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.16.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL opened at $86.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $70.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.99. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $82.68 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.