Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,640 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,114 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the second quarter valued at approximately $423,000. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 38,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,747,000 after acquiring an additional 7,130 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 70.9% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,194,000 after purchasing an additional 9,382 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 609,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,111,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.6% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 5,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.11.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL opened at $88.79 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $72.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.75. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $79.69 and a 1-year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 57.31%.

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.