Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stake Raised by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 225.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,566 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,403 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $15,269,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,028,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,420,000 after buying an additional 38,824 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CL. 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive 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 P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.17. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. 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 was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.