S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Increases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 268.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,091 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,372 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,494,000 after purchasing an additional 114,855 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $311,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 685,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 15,142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.02. The stock had a trading volume of 6,317,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,698,625. The firm has a market cap of $75.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (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%. The business's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a $0.52 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are 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.