Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Sells 189 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. trimmed its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $92.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.52.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.