Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 456,403 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,455 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned approximately 0.06% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $47,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,526,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $988,997,000 after acquiring an additional 557,492 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,785,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $755,465,000 after purchasing an additional 61,413 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% in 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. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 108.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,682,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $551,367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,955,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,595,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,032,000 after purchasing an additional 11,750 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Colgate-Palmolive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 36,726 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE CL traded up $1.25 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.59. 4,380,654 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,390,990. The stock has a market cap of $78.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.59. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $75.50 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.31%.

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.