Fayez Sarofim & Co Sells 194 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Fayez Sarofim & Co lessened its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 194 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $247,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on CL shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CL stock opened at $94.73 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $76.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.28. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 company earned $0.87 EPS. Research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

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

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.