Blue Chip Partners LLC Sells 246 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Blue Chip Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,622 shares of the company’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Avion Wealth grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $91.01 on Monday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $92.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $74.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $87.66 and a 200-day moving average of $81.63.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three research 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.13.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.