Moreno Evelyn V Buys New Shares in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Moreno Evelyn V bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $731,843,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,660 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $62,728,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,436,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,468,000 after purchasing an additional 688,733 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 225.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 930,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,137,000 after purchasing an additional 644,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CL traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $94.23. 831,010 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,561,300. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.17. The company has a market capitalization of $77.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $95.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on CL shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. TheStreet raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.35.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $1,149,977.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,328.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $1,149,977.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.