Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,742 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,323 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $6,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.7 %

CL stock opened at $97.46 on Tuesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.06. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $79.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 2.05%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CL. UBS Group reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.61.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.