Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC Takes $58,000 Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.39.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:CL opened at $87.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $71.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $92.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.40. 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 quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.76%.

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