Zacks Investment Management Sells 39,272 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Zacks Investment Management trimmed its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 86.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,952 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,272 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% during the 4th 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 period. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock worth $88,494,000 after acquiring an additional 114,855 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,315,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $4,066,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $803,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:CL traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $92.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,290,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,646,597. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The business's 50-day moving average is $91.78 and its 200-day moving average is $92.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $75.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

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 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are 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.