Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,618,332 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,324 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.93% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $607,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Avion Wealth raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.35.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $94.17. 1,146,427 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,574,461. 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 50-day simple moving average of $89.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.82. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $95.59. The company has a market cap of $77.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $1,149,977.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,309,691.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,209 shares of company stock valued at $7,667,425 over the last ninety days. 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.