ING Groep NV Decreases Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

ING Groep NV decreased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 104,399 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,928 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $9,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,246,000 after acquiring an additional 40,324 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.4% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 68,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,158,000 after acquiring an additional 3,543 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13,776.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 435,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,248,000 after acquiring an additional 432,730 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,177,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $89.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $84.45 and a 12-month 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.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.16.

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.