LGT Capital Partners LTD. Boosts Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 649,760 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,450 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive makes up about 1.5% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $51,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 48.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,863,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Raymond James upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, TheStreet raised 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 twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.31.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE CL opened at $90.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The firm has a market cap of $74.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $90.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $85.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.06.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.94%.

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.