Sapient Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $781,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,351,000 after buying an additional 3,793 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 791.0% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 96,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,663,000 after buying an additional 85,346 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 199,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,940,000 after purchasing an additional 44,122 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $2,502,634.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at $25,330,892.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 159,048 shares of company stock worth $13,336,846 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE CL traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $92.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,432,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,878,342. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $93.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.21. The firm has a market cap of $76.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

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.