Wulff Hansen & CO. Buys 317,892 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 9,604.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 321,202 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 317,892 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $31,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 159,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,726,000 after purchasing an additional 23,560 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $566,000. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 7,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $105.43 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.26 and its 200 day moving average is $95.43. The stock 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. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total value of $1,636,988.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at $1,439,929.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the company’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 $1,220,874.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CL. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Colgate-Palmolive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.79.

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.