Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 525 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,067,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,698,096,000 after buying an additional 8,933,912 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,969,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,400,000 after buying an additional 2,593,313 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,785,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,465,000 after acquiring an additional 61,413 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 6,987,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,220,000 after buying an additional 278,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 108.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,682,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955,442 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CL. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $103.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 10,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.10, for a total transaction of $1,085,952.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,069,868.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 10,533 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.10, for a total transaction of $1,085,952.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,868.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total transaction of $1,636,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,490 shares of company stock valued at $4,486,063. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.4 %

CL opened at $100.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $82.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.60. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $71.46 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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.