Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Sells 6,821 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC reduced its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 251,895 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,821 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive makes up about 2.3% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $23,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,578 shares of the company's stock worth $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 during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,216 shares of the company's stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,653 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target 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 nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.69.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of CL stock traded up $1.01 on Friday, reaching $88.80. 6,946,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,801,068. The stock has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.38. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $90.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.60.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 461.04% and a net margin of 14.52%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.