Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 176.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 599,782 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 382,545 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $56,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $348,718,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock worth $629,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,865 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $111,738,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,808,110 shares of the company's stock worth $255,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158,060 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of CL stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.60. 4,372,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,849,733. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $90.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.96. The firm has a market cap of $72.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire 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 stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lowered their target price on 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, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.13.

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.