Centre Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Centre Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,165 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,647 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for approximately 1.8% of Centre Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $8,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CL. State Street Corp raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,028,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,193,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,095,325,000 after buying an additional 552,949 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,526,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $988,997,000 after acquiring an additional 557,492 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,785,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,465,000 after acquiring an additional 61,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CL. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total value of $4,273,535.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,456,283.86. This represents a 55.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.3 %

CL traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $90.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 403,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,919. The company has a market capitalization of $73.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $79.52 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.46.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.31%.

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.