Searle & CO. Buys 412 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Searle & CO. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,012 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,356,000 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 company. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3,214.5% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 5,754 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,830,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,932,000 after acquiring an additional 88,674 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 5,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE:CL traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $91.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,218,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,624,679. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $92.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. Research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CL. Barclays raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,161,117.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total value of $299,562.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 229,611 shares of company stock valued at $19,271,879 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.37% 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.