Chiron Investment Management LLC Sells 50,854 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Chiron Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 82.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,887 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,854 shares during the quarter. Chiron Investment Management LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL traded up $2.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,029,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,591,385. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $91.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.48. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

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, 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 business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 59.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.17.

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.