Two Sigma Investments LP Lowers Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Two Sigma Investments LP lessened its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 92.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,688 shares of the company's stock after selling 140,527 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company's stock worth $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 15,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CL shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays cut 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $90.18. 4,716,460 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,712,088. 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 fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The company has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $91.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.21.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. Colgate-Palmolive'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 business posted $0.86 EPS. On average, 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 of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.76%.

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.