Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Takes $422,000 Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,000. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $2,918,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 16,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,933 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $92.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.12.

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.