Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 846 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lessened its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,228 shares of the company’s stock after selling 846 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,815,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,785,000 after buying an additional 514,559 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,452,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,198,000 after buying an additional 305,862 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,590,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,644,000 after buying an additional 127,805 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,055,000 after buying an additional 1,199,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,455,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,005,000 after buying an additional 500,916 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total transaction of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,470.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $88.58. 4,014,765 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,556,424. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.19 and a 200-day moving average of $81.06. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $90.37. The company has a market cap of $72.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.42. 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 results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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

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.