6,362 Shares in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Purchased by Barlow Wealth Partners Inc.

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 6,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Palisade Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 122,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,789,000 after purchasing an additional 6,772 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,426,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $352,824,000 after purchasing an additional 77,679 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 14,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 63,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total value of $486,128.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 63,236 shares in the company, valued at $5,309,294.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total value of $486,128.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,309,294.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,048 shares of company stock valued at $13,336,846. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $93.48. 7,252,082 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,695,009. The company has a market cap of $76.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $94.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.63.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.44.

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.