Bank of Montreal Can Sells 309,797 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,372,094 shares of the company's stock after selling 309,797 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.17% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $124,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 928.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 45,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,695,000 after buying an additional 40,825 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 132.4% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 10,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,052,000 after buying an additional 5,776 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 117.6% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 83,184 shares of the company's stock worth $8,635,000 after buying an additional 44,954 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,693,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

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Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL traded up $2.19 on Friday, hitting $93.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,664,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,582,305. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $76.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $90.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.57.

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. Analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CL shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Colgate-Palmolive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.67.

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.