Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Boosts Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 150,892 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,959 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $12,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,815,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,195,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,559 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 acquiring an additional 305,862 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 127,805 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.1% during the 3rd 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total transaction of $5,172,857.69. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,863,575.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total value of $5,172,857.69. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,863,575.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL traded up $0.30 on Thursday, reaching $89.17. The company had a trading volume of 713,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,501,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $73.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $67.62 and a fifty-two week high of $90.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.40 and its 200 day moving average is $81.25.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.