4,987 Shares in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Acquired by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 49,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,942,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 17,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE CL traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,286,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,616,837. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $92.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was 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 $686,470.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 over the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.