Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 56.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,374 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,122 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $36,482,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company's stock worth $863,447,000 after purchasing an additional 993,328 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 3,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 4,609 shares of the company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,011,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.39.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CL traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $89.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,846,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,624,606. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $72.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $92.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.65.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.