Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 4,919 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,770 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,919 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $1,315,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $4,066,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $803,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on CL shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” 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 issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE CL opened at $90.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.27. The stock has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.