Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Acquires 3,517 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,800 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,517 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $165,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,677 shares of the company's stock worth $2,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 5,599 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 16,990 shares of the company's stock worth $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,421 shares of the company's stock worth $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 36,726 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,456,283.86. This represents a 55.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $1.39 during trading on Thursday, reaching $90.96. The company had a trading volume of 5,414,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,071,273. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $91.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $82.68 and a 1-year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CL. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.00.

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.