Brown Advisory Inc. Cuts Stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 502,981 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,092 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 0.06% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $47,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company's stock worth $7,391,261,000 after acquiring an additional 588,230 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% during the fourth 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 bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,447,000 after buying an additional 993,328 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,865 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $91.27. 1,223,417 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,825,946. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $90.65 and its 200 day moving average is $90.55. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) 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 firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 461.04%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.69.

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.