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

Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 655,352 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,733 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive makes up 2.7% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.08% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $60,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $92.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.95 and a 200-day moving average of $91.26. The firm has a market cap of $74.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.