Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 338,847 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 457,091 shares of the company's stock after selling 338,847 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $41,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,315,000. Gordian Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $602,000. Carrera Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 39,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,066,000 after buying an additional 7,353 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,066,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on CL shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.16.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CL traded up $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $86.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,827,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,960,612. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.22. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $83.70 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The company has a market cap of $70.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

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.