Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Sells 8,300 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. trimmed its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,300 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $16,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 7,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 121,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,068,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 7,592 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 12,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 3,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,041,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,723,000 after buying an additional 201,274 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.38. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.72.

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.