Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. Sells 275 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 83,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,662,000 after purchasing an additional 32,809 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Skopos Labs Inc. bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $392,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 67,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,359,000 after acquiring an additional 2,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE:CL traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,554,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,674,141. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.43. The company has a market capitalization of $76.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $67.62 and a twelve month high of $95.59.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.35.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,328.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.