Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $1.11 Million Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 617 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. State Street Corp increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,028,170,000 after buying an additional 1,784,411 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,193,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,095,325,000 after acquiring an additional 552,949 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,526,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,997,000 after purchasing an additional 557,492 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,807 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $89.92 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $82.68 and a one year high of $109.30. The company has a market capitalization of $73.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 57.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total transaction of $4,273,535.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,726 shares in the company, valued at $3,456,283.86. This represents a 55.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.