Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA Decreases Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA trimmed its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,134 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 370,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,498,000 after buying an additional 74,337 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $864,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,115,000 after buying an additional 49,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,629.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. 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 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL traded up $1.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.99. 5,409,206 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,580,873. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.30. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $92.25. The stock has a market cap of $74.79 billion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.94%.

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.