Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Acquired by Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,019 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,343 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the 4th quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,268 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock worth $629,369,000 after buying an additional 1,816,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,405,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,716,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,710,117. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $91.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.12.

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.