United Asset Strategies Inc. Grows Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,047 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. &PARTNERS boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% in the first quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. TheStreet raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $86.16 on Wednesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $90.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.92 and a 200-day moving average of $80.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.32%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 69.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,628,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099. Corporate 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.