DGS Capital Management LLC Takes $209,000 Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 90,253.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,974,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,627,000 after purchasing an additional 15,956,771 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $644,715,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 151.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,688,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,400 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,370,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,886,000 after acquiring an additional 3,345,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,915.2% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,793,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $86.77 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $67.62 and a 1 year high of $90.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.63. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $71.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.06%.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total transaction of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,470.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total value of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $686,470.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $2,502,634.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at $25,330,892.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.