D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. Sells 742 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 742 shares during the quarter. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $92.73 on Monday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $89.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.52. The company has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a PEG 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.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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 given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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 research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.