Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 2,153,628 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,739,938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,153,628 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 3.52% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $2,612,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $95.76 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $91.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.30. The stock has a market cap of $77.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, 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. Investors 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 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.