First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Purchases 496 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,713 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CL. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.5% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Legacy Trust increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.7% in the first quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 6,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.5% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $102.60. 592,528 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,374,254. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $104.15.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 470.19%. The business had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, July 26th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total value of $1,636,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total value of $1,636,988.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 10,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.10, for a total transaction of $1,085,952.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,868.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,177 shares of company stock valued at $4,245,835 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.