Boston Trust Walden Corp Acquires 29,320 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 14.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,138 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,320 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $21,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviva PLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $311,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $304,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 685,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 15,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,974,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $88.08 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive Company 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 8.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.63 and a 200-day moving average of $90.85. The stock has a market cap of $71.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.38.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 461.04%. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.12.

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.

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