Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC reduced its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.0%, now owning 244,447 shares worth approximately $22.2 million, making it the firm's 27th largest position.
• Wall Street analysts have adjusted their price targets for Colgate-Palmolive, with Morgan Stanley lowering its target from $104.00 to $96.00, while Barclays and Wells Fargo also cut their price objectives, reflecting a cautious outlook.
• Colgate-Palmolive announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.7%, with the payout date set for November 14th for shareholders on record as of October 17th.

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC decreased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,447 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,448 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for about 2.1% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $22,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 111.1% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 266 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,913.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CL. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.21.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $77.99 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1 year low of $77.09 and a 1 year high of $102.61. The firm has a market cap of $63.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.91.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 377.63%. Colgate-Palmolive's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is presently 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.

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