Ascent Group LLC Has $2 Million Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 30.1% during the first quarter, bringing its total value to approximately $2 million.
• Numerous institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Goldman Sachs, have also significantly increased their positions in Colgate-Palmolive, which now has 80.41% of its stock owned by institutional investors.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share.

Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,317 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,927 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 111.1% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 266 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,913.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.37. 4,196,683 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,173,891. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $87.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.90. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $82.40 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The company has a market cap of $68.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.35.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 377.63%. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.43%.

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.