Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lowered its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,680 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,862 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company's stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock worth $88,494,000 after purchasing an additional 114,855 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $803,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:CL traded down $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.12. 1,829,654 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,672,194. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $91.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.25. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. Colgate-Palmolive's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.