Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 8,114 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,193,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,095,325,000 after acquiring an additional 552,949 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 6.2% during 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 boosted 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 period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $88.79 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.75. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $79.69 and a 12-month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CL shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.11.

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.