Abbrea Capital LLC Reduces Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Abbrea Capital LLC reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Abbrea Capital LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Syon Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 89.9% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 8,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 34,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 39,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 150,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.01. The company had a trading volume of 7,417,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,608,002. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.30. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $67.62 and a fifty-two week high of $92.12.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total value of $5,172,857.69. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,948 shares in the company, valued at $4,863,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 over the last quarter. Company 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.