Appleton Partners Inc. MA Reduces Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA trimmed its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 13.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 945 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 2,413 shares during the period. Alera Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $443,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 5,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 8,664.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,914,000 after acquiring an additional 284,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CL. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.11.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of CL stock traded up $1.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,088,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,089,503. The stock has a market cap of $84.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.06. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $103.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.84.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 470.19%. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,328.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares in the company, 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 company insiders.

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.