Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Eukles Asset Management

Eukles Asset Management lessened its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,374 shares of the company’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 370,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,498,000 after buying an additional 74,337 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,115,000 after purchasing an additional 49,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. Raymond James upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total transaction of $5,172,857.69. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,863,575.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total value of $5,172,857.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,863,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:CL traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $86.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,529,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,523,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.67. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $67.62 and a 1-year high of $90.37. The company has a market capitalization of $71.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 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 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 69.06%.

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.