The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 893,993 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,577 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.11% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $81,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company's stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company's stock worth $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $92.40 on Wednesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $92.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.39.

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.

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