Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,496,272 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,030,718 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.92% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $681,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after buying an additional 588,230 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,028,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company's stock worth $1,868,723,000 after buying an additional 324,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $912,375,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $806,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,604 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

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Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 2.9 %

CL traded down $2.68 on Monday, hitting $88.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,711,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,526,568. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.13. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $72.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G 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, topping 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 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. 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. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.06.

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.