Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Short Interest Up 6.5% in August

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,700,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the August 15th total of 8,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total transaction of $1,636,988.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total transaction of $1,636,988.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4,971.4% in the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.6 %

CL stock traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $102.51. 556,407 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,298,233. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $102.53 and its 200-day moving average is $95.61. The company has a market cap of $84.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.40. 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 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $107.00 to $109.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.79.

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.