Founders Financial Alliance LLC Takes Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $731,843,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,660 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $62,728,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 688,733 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 225.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 930,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,137,000 after acquiring an additional 644,205 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total transaction of $326,864.59. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,328.07. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CL. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.35.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,554,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,674,141. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.38 and a 200 day moving average of $84.43. The stock has a market cap of $76.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $95.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

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.