Wulff Hansen & CO. Grows Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 9,604.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 321,202 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 317,892 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $31,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 92.6% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 45,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,659,000 after acquiring an additional 22,073 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd now owns 383,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,594,000 after buying an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,269,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $911,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,154,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,969,000 after buying an additional 26,987 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $105.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $102.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.43. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $86.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total transaction of $1,636,988.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at $1,439,929.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at $1,439,929.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.79.

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.