Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Sells 15,283 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 87.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,096 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,283 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company's stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,315,000. Aviva PLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,494,000 after buying an additional 114,855 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $4,066,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $803,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.67.

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Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $2.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.99. The stock had a trading volume of 5,664,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,582,305. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.24 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, 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 has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $90.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.57.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors 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.