Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Stock Holdings Increased by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 103.8% in the first quarter, acquiring over 5,200 additional shares to reach a total of 10,218 shares valued at approximately $958,000.
• Colgate-Palmolive recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52, which impacts its annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio of 58.43%.
• Recent analyst ratings have been mixed, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.92, following various adjustments by firms such as Wells Fargo and UBS.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 103.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,218 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,204 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frisch Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter worth $227,000. Humankind Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 23,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 14,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,784 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 207,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,407,000 after purchasing an additional 10,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 139,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,044,000 after purchasing an additional 10,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.7%

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.04. 3,934,689 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,939,822. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1 year low of $82.40 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $67.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $87.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.82.

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 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 firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend 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.