AMF Tjanstepension AB Trims Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 35,919 shares and ending with 1,568,041 shares valued at about $123.9 million.
• Institutional ownership of Colgate-Palmolive remains very high at 80.41%, and several major funds, including Vanguard and Invesco, increased their positions recently.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported better-than-expected Q1 results with EPS of $0.97 on revenue of $5.32 billion, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.

AMF Tjanstepension AB lessened its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,568,041 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,919 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned about 0.19% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $123,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,947,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,633,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,985 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,467,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $676,931,000 after purchasing an additional 978,943 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.7% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,077,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572,796 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 7,918,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $625,758,000 after purchasing an additional 29,876 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,423,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $517,167,000 after purchasing an additional 314,584 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 target price on Colgate-Palmolive and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.88.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $89.89 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.82. The company has a market cap of $72.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.98, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.31. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12 month low of $74.54 and a 12 month high of $99.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 386.76%. The company's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is presently 82.49%.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company's core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.

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