CCM Investment Group LLC Buys Shares of 53,559 Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Key Points

• CCM Investment Group LLC acquired 53,559 shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company for approximately $4,971,000, marking a new investment in the company during the 1st quarter.
• Colgate-Palmolive's most recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.92, exceeding analyst estimates and indicating a year-over-year revenue growth of 1.0%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52, with a payout yield of 2.5%, rewarding shareholders during the upcoming payment cycle.

CCM Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 53,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,971,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter valued at about $217,593,000. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 63.0% in the 1st quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 9,318 shares of the company's stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,867,209 shares of the company's stock worth $643,458,000 after purchasing an additional 329,291 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $832,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company's stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CL. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $1.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.31. 3,534,354 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,256,824. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $88.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.10. The company has a market cap of $69.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $82.40 and a twelve month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 377.63% and a net margin of 14.55%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.43%.

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.