Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company by 93.8% in Q1, owning 235,989 shares valued at $22.1 million.
• Colgate-Palmolive's quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations with $0.92 EPS on revenue of $5.11 billion, reflecting a 1.0% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts are divided on the stock, with an average price target of $98.92, as ratings range from sell to buy across multiple firms.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 93.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 235,989 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 114,245 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $22,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $24,830,000. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,513 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,978,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $361,700,000 after acquiring an additional 220,326 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $85.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $68.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12 month low of $82.40 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The business's 50 day moving average is $88.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.00.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.03 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 377.63% and a net margin of 14.55%. The business's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.43%.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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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