Wealthfront Advisers LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Colgate‑Palmolive by 16.3% in Q4, adding 33,805 shares for a total holding of 241,222 shares valued at about $19.06 million.
• Analyst sentiment is skewed positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” (12 Buys, 6 Holds) and a consensus price target of $95.56, including recent upgrades to Buy from several firms.
• Colgate raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, ~2.5% yield) and recently reported an earnings beat of $0.95 EPS on revenue up 5.8% year‑over‑year.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 241,222 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,805 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $19,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 400 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 182.6% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 407 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, March 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 price objective on Colgate-Palmolive and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.56.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $85.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.05. The firm has a market cap of $68.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.34. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $74.54 and a twelve month high of $99.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 353.72% and a net margin of 10.45%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,851 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total transaction of $1,506,320.53. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,306,757.53. The trade was a 53.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 97,843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.27, for a total value of $9,223,659.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,310 shares in the company, valued at $5,214,073.70. This represents a 63.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 184,683 shares of company stock valued at $17,486,693 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

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.

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