Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 76.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,667 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,258 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $132,405,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE:CL traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,317,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,706,535. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $92.02 and its 200-day moving average is $91.27. 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 firm has a market cap of $75.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive's quarterly 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 fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.