RWA Wealth Partners LLC Cuts Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 184,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,664 shares during the quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $16,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL opened at $92.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $89.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.61. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. 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 fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. 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 59.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CL. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

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.