Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Increases Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,533 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,967 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $91.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.54. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $67.62 and a 1-year high of $92.25.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

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.