Cypress Capital LLC Buys New Shares in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Cypress Capital LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 19,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,783,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,494,000 after purchasing an additional 114,855 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 685,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,339,000 after acquiring an additional 15,142 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,710 shares of the company's stock worth $2,974,000 after acquiring an additional 3,187 shares during the period. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 67.4% during the 1st quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 8,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 3,586 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.69.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.36. 5,342,183 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,799,870. The company's 50-day moving average is $90.71 and its 200 day moving average is $90.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 14.52% and a return on equity of 461.04%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.76%.

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.