Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Bank of New Hampshire

Bank of New Hampshire trimmed its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,254 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CL. FMR LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,660 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $62,728,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,436,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,468,000 after buying an additional 688,733 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 225.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 930,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,137,000 after buying an additional 644,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 883,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,809,000 after acquiring an additional 577,114 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CL. Raymond James upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.67. 4,669,210 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,572,197. The stock has a market cap of $74.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $92.25.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 71.94%.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.