Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock Holdings Lifted by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 19.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,479,508 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 236,862 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $119,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,815,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,195,785,000 after acquiring an additional 514,559 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,452,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,198,000 after purchasing an additional 305,862 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,590,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,644,000 after purchasing an additional 127,805 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,055,000 after buying an additional 1,199,660 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.1% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,455,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,005,000 after buying an additional 500,916 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,054,629.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,048 shares of company stock worth $13,336,846 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $92.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,432,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,878,342. The company has a market cap of $76.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $88.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.35. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $93.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.44.

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.