Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Acquires 7,212 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 59.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 7,212 shares, bringing its total holdings to 19,393 shares worth approximately $1.8 million.
• Colgate-Palmolive recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.5% with a payout ratio of 58.76%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Colgate-Palmolive, with seven buy ratings, six holds, and one sell rating, while the average target price is set at approximately $100.58.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 59.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,393 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,212 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,447,000 after buying an additional 993,328 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,369,000 after buying an additional 1,816,865 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,798,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,359,000 after buying an additional 246,908 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,537,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $594,362,000 after buying an additional 169,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,299,989 shares of the company's stock valued at $572,732,000 after buying an additional 632,653 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. Wall Street Zen cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $83.33. The company had a trading volume of 5,486,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,273,744. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.59 and a 200 day moving average of $90.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.35. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $82.40 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.96, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 377.63% and a net margin of 14.55%. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 58.76%.

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.