Horizon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Horizon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,633 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Horizon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviva PLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,494,000 after buying an additional 114,855 shares during the period. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $311,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $304,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 685,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 15,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,974,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. 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 lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.0%

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.18 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.19. The company has a market cap 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 has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.