Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,775 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,342 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $14,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 370,071 shares of the company's stock worth $29,498,000 after acquiring an additional 74,337 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,383 shares of the company's stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the company's stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,634 shares of the company's stock worth $323,115,000 after acquiring an additional 49,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,170 shares of the company's stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CL. Raymond James raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TheStreet raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $87.13. 5,994,560 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,571,473. The business's fifty day moving average price is $87.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $90.37.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change 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 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total value of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.