Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Has $1.03 Million Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lessened its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 9,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 1,252,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,820,000 after acquiring an additional 260,620 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 13,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,604 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $96.84 on Monday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.61.

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.