Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Anchor Capital Advisors LLC

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,324 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,255 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Avion Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock traded up $0.73 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.22. 618,382 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,560,444. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $92.25. The stock has a market cap of $74.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.77.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share 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 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CL shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.44.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total transaction of $5,172,857.69. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,863,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099 in the last quarter. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.