Jacobs & Co. CA Lowers Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Jacobs & Co. CA lessened its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,457,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,583,000 after purchasing an additional 112,177 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,815,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,559 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 90,253.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,974,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,627,000 after acquiring an additional 15,956,771 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,470,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,971,000 after acquiring an additional 50,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $644,715,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CL. TheStreet raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total value of $5,172,857.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,948 shares in the company, valued at $4,863,575.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total transaction of $5,172,857.69. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,948 shares in the company, valued at $4,863,575.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’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 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. Insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $89.96 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $85.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.98. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $90.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.42. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. 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 2.22%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.06%.

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.