Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lowered its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 152,947 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,212 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $13,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 312.0% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 545,551 shares of the company's stock worth $49,596,000 after purchasing an additional 413,134 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $8,105,000. Mirova US LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 11,849 shares of the company's stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 12,390 shares of the company's stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 78,474 shares of the company's stock worth $7,134,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CL. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of CL stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.30. The company had a trading volume of 8,950,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,226,202. The company's fifty day moving average is $89.33 and its 200 day moving average is $94.18. 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 fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. 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 yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership 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.