Gleason Group Inc. Sells 1,597 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Gleason Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 38.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,592 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,597 shares during the quarter. Gleason Group Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $90.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $91.77 and its 200 day moving average is $91.19. 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 has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase 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 shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.