Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 7,006 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,006 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 370,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,498,000 after purchasing an additional 74,337 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,115,000 after purchasing an additional 49,980 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.33.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,564,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,782,388. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.82. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $99.08. The firm has a market cap of $80.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Colgate-Palmolive 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.