Trust Co. of Vermont Sells 7,130 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Trust Co. of Vermont lowered its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 25.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,620 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,130 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in 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 stake in 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. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $132,405,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CL. UBS Group lifted 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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 nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.69.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.2%

CL stock traded up $1.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $88.80. 6,946,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,776,027. The firm's 50 day moving average is $90.86 and its 200 day moving average is $90.59. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.96. The firm has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.38.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 461.04% and a net margin of 14.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.