Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Buys 15,721 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 52.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,645 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,721 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,815,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,559 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,452,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,198,000 after buying an additional 305,862 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,590,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,644,000 after buying an additional 127,805 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,055,000 after buying an additional 1,199,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,455,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,005,000 after buying an additional 500,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of CL stock opened at $91.90 on Wednesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $92.25. The stock has a market cap of $75.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.92.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total value of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at $24,161,117.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 229,611 shares of company stock worth $19,271,879 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.44.

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.