Wedbush Securities Inc. Grows Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,182 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $91.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.27 and a 200 day moving average of $93.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication 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.