River Global Investors LLP Raises Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

River Global Investors LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,250 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,750 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,660 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,728,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,436,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,468,000 after acquiring an additional 688,733 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 930,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,137,000 after purchasing an additional 644,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 188.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 883,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,809,000 after purchasing an additional 577,114 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CL shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 159,048 shares of company stock valued at $13,336,846. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of CL stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.88. 5,432,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,878,342. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $93.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its 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. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

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.