Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 64,072 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 6.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 934,794 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,072 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $90,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.3 %

CL stock opened at $102.06 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $103.59 and its 200 day moving average is $96.66. The company has a market capitalization of $83.73 billion, a PE ratio of 32.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 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 (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 470.19%. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Colgate-Palmolive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.74.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,874.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,439,929.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.