Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,809 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,169 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% during the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353,268 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,865 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $132,405,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $90.18. 4,716,460 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,710,117. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $91.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.21. The company has a market cap of $73.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. 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 (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during 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 was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.