Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 996,251 shares of the company’s stock after selling 896 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $90,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 2,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.4 %

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $86.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $83.70 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The company has a market cap of $70.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.22.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Barclays cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.16.

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.