National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI has reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company by 5.0% during the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 0.09% ownership of the company worth $65.5 million.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported a quarterly EPS of $0.92, surpassing analysts' estimates and indicating a 1.0% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Colgate-Palmolive, with the consensus rating being a "Hold" and an average target of $98.92.

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 699,528 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,035 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.09% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $65,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 20.1% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 952,149 shares of the company's stock worth $89,216,000 after buying an additional 159,565 shares in the last quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,613 shares of the company's stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,745,595 shares of the company's stock worth $257,321,000 after acquiring an additional 176,201 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 57.0% during the 1st quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the company's stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 2,511 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,534,898 shares of the company's stock worth $143,820,000 after acquiring an additional 136,786 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of CL traded up $1.35 on Wednesday, hitting $86.32. 1,662,859 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,244,220. The company has a market capitalization of $69.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.10. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a one year low of $82.40 and a one year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 377.63%. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.43%.

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.