Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Position Lowered by Toth Financial Advisory Corp

Toth Financial Advisory Corp decreased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,452 shares of the company’s stock after selling 426 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after buying an additional 588,230 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after acquiring an additional 324,683 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,447,000 after purchasing an additional 993,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL opened at $90.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $73.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.15.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.