Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 132,507 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,630,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 132,507 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.57% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $420,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.1 %

CL opened at $93.84 on Tuesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $76.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.78.

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.