MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,199,660 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,728,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,436,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,468,000 after purchasing an additional 688,733 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 930,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,137,000 after purchasing an additional 644,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 188.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 883,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,809,000 after buying an additional 577,114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $93.18. The stock had a trading volume of 3,181,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,673,507. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $67.62 and a 1-year high of $93.30. The firm has a market cap of $76.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $88.35 and its 200-day moving average is $82.35.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on CL. UBS Group raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Three investment 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 price target of $91.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total value of $486,128.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,309,294.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total value of $486,128.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 63,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,309,294.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 159,048 shares of company stock worth $13,336,846. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.