Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 2,030,718 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,496,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,030,718 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $681,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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. One equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of CL opened at $93.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61, a PEG 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.03 and a 200-day moving average of $93.36.

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

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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

Colgate-Palmolive 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.