Welch Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 655,352 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,733 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for approximately 2.7% of Welch Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Welch Group LLC owned 0.08% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $60,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 12.8% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 5,300 shares of the company's stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 10,601.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,105,379 shares of the company's stock worth $103,574,000 after buying an additional 1,095,050 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.0% during the first quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,388 shares of the company's stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 19.8% during the first quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 69,668 shares of the company's stock worth $6,528,000 after buying an additional 11,531 shares during the period. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter worth $91,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of CL stock 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. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $85.32 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50-day moving average is $92.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CL shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.12.

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.