Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 38,824 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,028,600 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,824 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $184,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 2,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.16.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CL stock opened at $86.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $90.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.84. 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 company has a market capitalization of $70.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $82.68 and a 12-month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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.