United Asset Strategies Inc. Increases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8%, acquiring an additional 4,186 shares, bringing its total holdings to 115,624 shares worth approximately $10.83 million.
• Colgate-Palmolive recently reported Q2 earnings of $0.92 per share, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.89, while achieving a revenue of $5.11 billion, which also exceeded expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.08 and a yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio of 58.43%.

United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,624 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $10,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 111.1% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 266 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,913.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL traded down $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,637,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,193,540. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $82.40 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company's fifty day moving average price is $87.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.94. The company has a market capitalization of $67.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 377.63% and a net margin of 14.55%.The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 58.43%.

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.