Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Purchased by Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 51.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,786 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,350 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 90,253.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,974,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,627,000 after purchasing an additional 15,956,771 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $644,715,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 151.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,688,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,427,400 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,370,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,886,000 after buying an additional 3,345,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,915.2% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,793,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,985,000 after buying an additional 1,704,300 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $2,502,634.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at $25,330,892.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $2,502,634.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 301,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,330,892.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL opened at $85.85 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The stock has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $86.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.37. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $67.62 and a 12-month high of $90.37.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 69.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.56.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.