Versant Capital Management Inc Raises Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 222.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,060 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,179 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after buying an additional 588,230 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,868,723,000 after buying an additional 324,683 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $912,375,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,200,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $806,015,000 after buying an additional 1,040,604 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:CL traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $91.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,719,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,324,619. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.02 and a 200-day moving average of $91.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. Colgate-Palmolive's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 58.76%.

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

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.