Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,856 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the 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 owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 directly 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total value of $5,172,857.69. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,863,575.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James raised 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 report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $88.33 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.06. The company has a market cap of $72.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $67.62 and a 12-month high of $90.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 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.