Welch Group LLC Raises Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Welch Group LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 631,619 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,137 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive comprises 2.6% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.08% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $57,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.16.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $87.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $71.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $82.68 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 56.82%.

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.