Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lessened its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,544 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,166 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $14,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CL. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.39.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.2%

CL stock opened at $87.69 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month 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.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities 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 initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.76%.

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.