GQG Partners LLC Sells 4,977,087 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

GQG Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 53.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,361,315 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,977,087 shares during the quarter. GQG Partners LLC owned 0.53% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $396,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,028,170,000 after buying an additional 1,784,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,193,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,325,000 after buying an additional 552,949 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,040,604 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $90.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.95.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

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.