First Financial Bank Trust Division Lowers Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,561 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,834 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company's stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,651 shares of the company's stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CL. Wall Street Zen lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.02. The stock had a trading volume of 6,317,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,706,535. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50 day moving average is $92.02 and its 200 day moving average is $91.27. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30.

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

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a $0.52 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

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.