Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Position Increased by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,597 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,820 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CL. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 48.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total value of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,470.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 in the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. 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 research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL opened at $86.16 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.58. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $90.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $70.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.99, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio 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.