Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Invests $284,000 in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Avion Wealth grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 48.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE CL opened at $87.13 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.11. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $90.37. The company has a market capitalization of $71.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 69.06%.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction 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. Insiders have sold a total of 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on CL. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned 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 $89.50.

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.