Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,240 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,247 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intrust Bank NA boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Eagle Ridge Investment Management boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management now owns 18,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 7,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 2,018 shares during the period. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $92.88 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $88.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.35. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $93.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. 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. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 159,048 shares of company stock valued at $13,336,846 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.