First Personal Financial Services Lowers Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

First Personal Financial Services reduced its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for about 2.0% of First Personal Financial Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. First Personal Financial Services’ holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $9,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Main Street Research LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 6,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.1% in the second quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 9.5% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total transaction of $1,522,894.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $529,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $1,522,894.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,146 shares in the company, valued at $529,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,490 shares of company stock valued at $4,486,063 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $106.50. The stock had a trading volume of 5,033,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,329,917. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $106.72. The firm has a market cap of $87.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised Colgate-Palmolive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.11.

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.