Carret Asset Management LLC Has $1.29 Million Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,214 shares of the company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 43,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 79.7% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 7,258 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter worth $279,000. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at $2,916,000. Finally, Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% in the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 619,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,027,000 after purchasing an additional 12,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at $1,628,484. 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on CL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target 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. TheStreet raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL traded up $0.43 during trading on Thursday, hitting $89.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,356,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,520,912. The firm has a market cap of $73.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 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 current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.25.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company 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 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 71.94%.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.