Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Grows Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,074 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,815,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,559 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,452,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,198,000 after acquiring an additional 305,862 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,590,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,644,000 after purchasing an additional 127,805 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,660 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,455,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,005,000 after buying an additional 500,916 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total transaction of $486,128.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,309,294.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total transaction of $486,128.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,236 shares in the company, valued at $5,309,294.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,161,117.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 159,048 shares of company stock worth $13,336,846. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $93.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. The stock has a market cap of $76.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $67.62 and a twelve month high of $94.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.63.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.44.

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.