Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 71.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,170 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,010 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 4,187 shares of the company's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,292 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,489 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.84 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.62 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $91.75 and its 200-day moving average is $91.25.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

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

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