Whittier Trust Co. Reduces Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Whittier Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,510 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen decreased 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $90.30 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.33 and a 200-day moving average of $94.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

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

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.