Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Position Trimmed by Aspire Private Capital LLC

Aspire Private Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,498 shares of the company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gimbal Financial acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 112.3% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 193,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,428,000 after purchasing an additional 102,361 shares during the period. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,636,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $375,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE:CL traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $88.96. The stock had a trading volume of 900,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,514,857. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $67.62 and a 1-year high of $90.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.06. 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 market capitalization of $73.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. 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 yield of 2.25%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.94%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

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 shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total value of $762,175.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,470.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total value of $762,175.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,470.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CL shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

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.