Kennon Green & Company LLC Sells 1,686 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Kennon Green & Company LLC reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,686 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive makes up 1.1% of Kennon Green & Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Kennon Green & Company LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,815,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,785,000 after buying an additional 514,559 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,452,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,198,000 after acquiring an additional 305,862 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,590,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,644,000 after acquiring an additional 127,805 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,455,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,005,000 after purchasing an additional 500,916 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total value 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 $686,470.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $90.04. 2,461,105 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,582,305. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $92.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.38.

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.