Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Lowers Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. cut its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,300 shares during the quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $16,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $348,718,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $700,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,807 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% during the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,268 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock worth $793,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company's stock worth $5,028,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784,411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

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Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL stock traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $89.52. 5,173,007 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,226,853. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $89.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.95. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.