Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $23.62 Million Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 296,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,814 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $23,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. &PARTNERS raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 17,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% in the third quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 5,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 5,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $92.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $67.62 and a 1 year high of $93.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.35 and a 200 day moving average of $82.35. The company has a market cap of $76.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,330,892.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 301,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,330,892.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,048 shares of company stock valued at $13,336,846. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.44.

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.