Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH trimmed its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 78.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,282 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,842 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company's stock worth $1,868,723,000 after acquiring an additional 324,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company's stock worth $863,447,000 after acquiring an additional 993,328 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company's stock worth $806,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,604 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.72 on Friday, hitting $93.02. The stock had a trading volume of 6,317,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,698,625. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock has a market cap of $75.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company's 50 day moving average price is $92.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.27.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 a boost 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on CL shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.12.

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.