GQG Partners LLC Reduces Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

GQG Partners LLC decreased its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 53.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,361,315 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,977,087 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $396,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CL. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $90.91 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.95. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30. 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 $73.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.82%.

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