Synovus Financial Corp Sells 4,021 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Synovus Financial Corp trimmed its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,446 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,021 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 8.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 288,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,903,000 after acquiring an additional 21,862 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% in the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 43,957 shares of the company's stock worth $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.0% during the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 5,500 shares of the company's stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Equity Management boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.0% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 5,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 2.1 %

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.49. 7,029,569 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,584,545. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. 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 $91.31 and its 200-day moving average is $92.31.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive 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 Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.17.

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.