Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Decreases Position in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 165,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58,287 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $13,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 182.6% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.88.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $87.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $70.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.33, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.02. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a one year low of $74.54 and a one year high of $99.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $86.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.51.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 386.76%. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 82.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.81, for a total transaction of $1,467,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,018,691.15. This represents a 59.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company’s core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.