Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) Stake Raised by Essex Savings Bank

Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 20.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,443 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,003 shares during the quarter. Essex Savings Bank's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock worth $88,494,000 after acquiring an additional 114,855 shares during the period. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $311,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $304,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted 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 worth $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 15,142 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.8% during the 4th 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. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL opened at $88.66 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.93. The stock has a market cap of $71.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. 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 2.35%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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