Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $3.28 Million Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,381 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 49,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,942,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 17,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CL shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.83.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.6 %

CL stock opened at $96.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $78.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.76. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $99.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,328.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.