Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 232,781 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,862 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $21,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.78.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $93.84 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $76.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.