Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Short Interest Down 5.2% in January

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,560,000 shares, a decrease of 5.2% from the January 15th total of 10,080,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CL opened at $87.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $83.70 and a 52 week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business posted $0.87 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.16.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.