Joseph Group Capital Management Makes New Investment in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 13,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CL shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of CL opened at $92.73 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 stock has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.69 and its 200-day moving average is $93.61. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign 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.