Haverford Trust Co Sells 314 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Haverford Trust Co decreased its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 314 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $4,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $90.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $73.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.95. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.82%.

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

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.