Apollon Wealth Management LLC Has $2.35 Million Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 95.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,479 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,407 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 63,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $143,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 70,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,687,000 after buying an additional 9,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of Colgate-Palmolive 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 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 value of $299,562.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,048 shares of company stock worth $13,336,846 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $94.08. 3,987,097 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,665,950. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.49. The firm has a market cap of $77.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40. 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 has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $94.21.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS 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 return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

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.