Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Invests $42.20 Million in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 422,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,204,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC owned about 0.05% of Colgate-Palmolive as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CL opened at $89.91 on Monday. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The company has a market capitalization of $72.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.47.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.39.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.