EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 186 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,475 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $731,843,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,133,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,561,340,000 after purchasing an additional 4,625,472 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4,162.6% during the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,016,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,988 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,728,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CL. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.94.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CL traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $94.62. 2,722,828 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,539,232. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $95.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $1,149,977.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,328.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.