Private Advisor Group LLC Raises Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 68,952 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,543 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $7,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter valued at about $911,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.4% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,154,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,969,000 after purchasing an additional 26,987 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 277.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,979,000 after buying an additional 24,314 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,812,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 598,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,901,000 after acquiring an additional 175,445 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL opened at $95.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $71.46 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $78.39 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CL. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total transaction of $1,522,894.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $1,522,894.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,874.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.