Ellevest Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Ellevest Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 436 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $89.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.21 and its 200 day moving average is $91.58. The company has a market cap of $72.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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 dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.39.

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.