Morse Asset Management Inc Sells 1,611 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Morse Asset Management Inc decreased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 17.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,611 shares during the quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,894,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,368,378,000 after purchasing an additional 416,853 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,067,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,698,096,000 after acquiring an additional 8,933,912 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $731,843,000. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.1% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 6,987,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,220,000 after acquiring an additional 278,150 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,426,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,824,000 after acquiring an additional 77,679 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. 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. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.58.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL traded up $2.90 during trading on Friday, hitting $99.39. 7,137,452 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,712,450. The company has a market cap of $81.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.20. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $67.62 and a 1 year high of $100.61. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.