Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc

Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lowered its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,317 shares of the company’s stock after selling 689 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive comprises about 1.0% of Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,391,261,000 after buying an additional 588,230 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after buying an additional 324,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,447,000 after acquiring an additional 993,328 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,604 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $90.18 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. 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 (NYSE:CL) last announced 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. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CL. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.12.

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.