Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,494 shares of the company’s stock after selling 373 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CL. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 90,253.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,974,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,258,627,000 after acquiring an additional 15,956,771 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $644,715,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 151.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,688,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,400 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,370,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,886,000 after buying an additional 3,345,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,915.2% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,793,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,985,000 after buying an additional 1,704,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 57,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,863,575.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 57,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,863,575.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total transaction of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,470.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $85.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.31. The stock has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $67.62 and a 1-year high of $90.37.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.06%.

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.