Congress Asset Management Co. Has $15 Million Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 160,133 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,414 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $15,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.0%

CL opened at $90.18 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $91.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.17. The company has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly 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. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Citigroup lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.12.

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.