Ethic Inc. Sells 9,517 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Ethic Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,517 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $7,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunpointe LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 9,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 20,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.5% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.81, for a total transaction of $1,467,150.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,018,691.15. This trade represents a 59.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total value of $1,978,213.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,645 shares in the company, valued at $1,663,041.25. This trade represents a 54.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 70,989 shares of company stock worth $6,756,713 over the last ninety days. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE CL opened at $87.53 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12 month low of $74.54 and a 12 month high of $99.33. The stock has a market cap of $70.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 386.76% and a net margin of 10.04%.The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 82.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Evercore increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.88.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company’s core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.