Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 34,510 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 965 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 370,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,498,000 after purchasing an additional 74,337 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,115,000 after acquiring an additional 49,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at $24,161,117.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $89.22. The stock had a trading volume of 3,088,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,529,174. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $90.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $73.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.40 and a 200 day moving average of $81.25.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 71.94%.

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.