Tradewinds LLC. Raises Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Tradewinds LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,831 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,705 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for approximately 1.6% of Tradewinds LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Tradewinds LLC.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 16,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 395,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,909,000 after buying an additional 17,267 shares during the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Boston Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Research & Management Inc. now owns 63,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,797,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 14,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.78.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.1 %

CL opened at $93.84 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.44. 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 stock has a market cap of $76.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.