Confluence Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,321,151 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,795 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for about 1.8% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $123,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,268 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% in 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 period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,405,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $93.02. The company had a trading volume of 6,317,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,706,422. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.27. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock has a market cap of $75.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership 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.