Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,372,094 shares of the company’s stock after selling 309,797 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.17% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $124,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CL. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 217,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 682,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,034,000 after purchasing an additional 56,776 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 204,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,546,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 18,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,653,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 12,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE CL opened at $89.21 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its 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 return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CL. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.