Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases 4,820 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 32.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,597 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,820 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. &PARTNERS grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 17,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 5,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total transaction of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,470.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CL shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. TheStreet raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research 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 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $86.16 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.58. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $90.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 69.06%.

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.