Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires New Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $173,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CL. &PARTNERS grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 17,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 5,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total value of $299,562.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total value of $762,175.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at $686,470.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $87.13. 6,005,071 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,627,129. 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 company has a market cap of $71.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.78.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 69.06%.

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.