Richwood Investment Advisors LLC Sells 265 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on CL shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $90.30 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.18.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its 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 net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 56.82%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.