Magellan Asset Management Ltd Decreases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,220,712 shares of the company’s stock after selling 557,988 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive comprises approximately 2.2% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $201,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,501,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 970,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,689,000 after acquiring an additional 44,482 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 37.8% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,196,000 after acquiring an additional 5,869 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.4% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 445,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,260,000 after acquiring an additional 14,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 386.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of CL stock opened at $93.65 on Thursday. 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 has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.06.

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.