Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Lowers Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,334,561 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,234,968 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $484,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,391,261,000 after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,028,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,193,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,325,000 after purchasing an additional 552,949 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $912,375,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,015,000 after buying an additional 1,040,604 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $92.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.61. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire 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 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.