Everett Harris & Co. CA Sells 13,328 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Everett Harris & Co. CA trimmed its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 813,433 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,328 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive comprises approximately 0.9% of Everett Harris & Co. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $64,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CL. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CL stock traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $89.96. 4,078,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,716,554. 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 fifty-two week low of $67.62 and a fifty-two week high of $90.27. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.98. The firm has a market cap of $74.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 69.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CL. Barclays raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.31.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.