Montag & Caldwell LLC Buys New Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,815,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,559 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,452,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,198,000 after acquiring an additional 305,862 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,590,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,644,000 after acquiring an additional 127,805 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,455,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,005,000 after purchasing an additional 500,916 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE:CL traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $90.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,615,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,571,905. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $67.62 and a fifty-two week high of $92.25. The company has a market capitalization of $74.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.66 and a 200-day moving average of $81.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. 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. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $2,502,634.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at $25,330,892.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Three investment 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.13.

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.