Simmons Bank Has $1.33 Million Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Simmons Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,121 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% during the third 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 last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $62,728,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings 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 valued at $114,468,000 after buying an additional 688,733 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 930,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,137,000 after buying an additional 644,205 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 188.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 883,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,809,000 after buying an additional 577,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.08. 3,987,097 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,665,950. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $67.62 and a twelve month high of $94.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $77.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. 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 research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.44.

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.