Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 20,407 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services trimmed its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 0.5%, selling 20,407 shares and leaving it with 4,454,045 shares (about 0.55% of the company) valued at roughly $352 million.
• Colgate beat Q4 expectations with $0.95 EPS (vs. $0.91) and $5.23B revenue (up 5.8% year-over-year), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, ~2.5% yield).
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view—MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $96.13 (11 Buys, 6 Holds).

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,454,045 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,407 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.55% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $351,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,047,542 shares of the company's stock worth $163,681,000 after purchasing an additional 202,379 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,373,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 422,292 shares of the company's stock worth $33,758,000 after purchasing an additional 16,017 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,346,590 shares of the company's stock worth $107,646,000 after purchasing an additional 409,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 248.5% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 87,410 shares of the company's stock worth $6,909,000 after purchasing an additional 62,327 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CL shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.13.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $84.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $67.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business's 50 day moving average price is $90.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.59. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a fifty-two week low of $74.54 and a fifty-two week high of $99.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.13 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 353.72% and a net margin of 10.45%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total transaction of $1,978,213.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,663,041.25. The trade was a 54.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.61, for a total value of $3,311,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $985,363.15. This represents a 77.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 184,683 shares of company stock worth $17,486,693. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company's core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.

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