Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Sells 6,450 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc trimmed its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,450 shares during the period. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Colgate-Palmolive 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 value of $5,891,020.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL traded up $0.40 on Thursday, reaching $89.27. 6,361,812 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,572,863. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $90.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

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.