F M Investments LLC Raises Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

F M Investments LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,677 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 806 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.67.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $93.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.65. The firm has a market cap of $76.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. 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 2.21%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

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