Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Sells 18,510 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 70.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,510 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 15,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,370,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 387,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,293 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 173,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,803,000 after purchasing an additional 7,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 21,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total value of $4,273,535.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,456,283.86. This trade represents a 55.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.11.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $87.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $80.03 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.31%.

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.