AMI Asset Management Corp Sells 12,404 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

AMI Asset Management Corp reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 384,184 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,404 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive comprises approximately 2.1% of AMI Asset Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. AMI Asset Management Corp's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $35,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.69.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CL traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $87.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,813,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,782,394. Colgate-Palmolive Company 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 8.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $91.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.38.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 461.04% and a net margin of 14.52%. The company's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.