Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lowered its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 59.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,425 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company's stock worth $7,391,261,000 after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 324,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company's stock worth $863,447,000 after acquiring an additional 993,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company's stock worth $806,015,000 after buying 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

NYSE:CL traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $92.25. 4,718,566 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,693,741. The firm's 50-day moving average is $91.93 and its 200-day moving average is $91.26. The stock has a market cap of $74.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G 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. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.12.

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.