Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 200,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,063 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $15,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% during the third 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. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC lifted 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 worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, 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 transaction of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at $24,161,117.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,048 shares of company stock valued at $13,336,846. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CL shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. 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, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $92.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,432,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,878,342. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $67.62 and a 1-year high of $93.25.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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