Greenleaf Trust Raises Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,354 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. &PARTNERS grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 17,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 5,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total value of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at $686,470.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total value of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at $686,470.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.1 %

CL opened at $87.13 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $90.37. The company has a market cap of $71.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.78. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. 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. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 69.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

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.