Waverton Investment Management Ltd Reduces Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,165 shares during the quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,246,000 after acquiring an additional 40,324 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13,776.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 435,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,248,000 after purchasing an additional 432,730 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 17,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 254,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,464,000 after buying an additional 35,986 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CL. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.16.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL opened at $89.56 on Monday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $84.45 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $72.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.44. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $88.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.82.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

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.