Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stake Lowered by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. cut its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,408 shares of the company’s stock after selling 569 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 370,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,498,000 after buying an additional 74,337 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,115,000 after purchasing an additional 49,980 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 at this hyperlink. Also, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE:CL traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,541,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,968,951. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $67.62 and a fifty-two week high of $92.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The company has a market capitalization of $74.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.66 and a 200-day moving average of $81.54.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

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.