Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. Sells 229 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. lowered its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the period. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $1,315,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,066,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $803,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $92.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.61. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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 issued a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CL shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.06.

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.