Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases 3,232 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,314 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,894,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,368,378,000 after purchasing an additional 416,853 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,067,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,698,096,000 after buying an additional 8,933,912 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,969,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,400,000 after acquiring an additional 2,593,313 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 6,987,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $629,220,000 after acquiring an additional 278,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $551,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955,442 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CL. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $103.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.79.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $104.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $67.62 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.41 and a 200-day moving average of $95.55.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 10,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.10, for a total value of $1,085,952.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,868.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently 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.