J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Has $771,000 Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,676 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,177 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $771,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 370,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,498,000 after acquiring an additional 74,337 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $864,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,115,000 after acquiring an additional 49,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total transaction of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,470.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CL stock opened at $88.33 on Tuesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $67.62 and a 1 year high of $90.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 71.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on CL shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 note on Monday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

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.