Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Everett Harris & Co. CA

Everett Harris & Co. CA reduced its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 813,433 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,328 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive makes up 0.9% of Everett Harris & Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Everett Harris & Co. CA owned approximately 0.10% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $64,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 48.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CL. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total transaction of $762,175.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at $686,470.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,628,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.96. The stock had a trading volume of 4,078,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,716,554. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The company has a market cap of $74.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $67.62 and a fifty-two week high of $90.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.98.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.06%.

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.