Donaldson Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,663 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Union Savings Bank increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter worth $25,000. Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.9 %

CL stock traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.01. 7,541,541 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,968,951. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $87.66 and a 200-day moving average of $81.46. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $92.25.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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%. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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

Colgate-Palmolive 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.