Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 135,340 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 38.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 218,305 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135,340 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $19,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,315,000. Aviva PLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,494,000 after acquiring an additional 114,855 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $4,066,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $803,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL opened at $90.28 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The company has a market cap of $73.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $90.24 and its 200 day moving average is $92.80. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.