Certuity LLC Buys New Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Certuity LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CL. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,660 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $62,728,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,436,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,468,000 after purchasing an additional 688,733 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 225.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 930,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,137,000 after purchasing an additional 644,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 188.5% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 883,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,809,000 after purchasing an additional 577,114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CL. UBS Group lifted 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL opened at $91.90 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $67.62 and a fifty-two week high of $92.54. The firm has a market cap of $75.40 billion, a PE ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.99.

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 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 firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total transaction of $486,128.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,309,294.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total value of $486,128.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,309,294.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at $24,161,117.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 159,048 shares of company stock worth $13,336,846. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.