Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Short Interest Down 5.2% in January

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,560,000 shares, a drop of 5.2% from the January 15th total of 10,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company's shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company's stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,315,000. Gordian Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter worth approximately $602,000. Carrera Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 23.1% in the third quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,066,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $1.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $89.56. The stock had a trading volume of 4,643,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,877,680. The company has a market capitalization of $72.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.99. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $84.45 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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, StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.16.

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.