Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,456,256 shares of the company's stock after selling 199,878 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.18% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $132,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 220,030 shares of the company's stock worth $20,003,000 after buying an additional 4,576 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $64,000. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $8,645,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 8,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL stock traded down $2.45 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $89.21. 7,820,155 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,546,577. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.04. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $72.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.