First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,727,297 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 186,504 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $218,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 76.3% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 46,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 20,062 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 12,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 67.3% during the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 20,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 8,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.81, for a total transaction of $1,467,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,018,691.15. The trade was a 59.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total value of $1,978,213.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,645 shares in the company, valued at $1,663,041.25. This trade represents a 54.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 184,683 shares of company stock valued at $17,486,693. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.75.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $93.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.41 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.05. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $74.54 and a twelve month high of $100.18.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 353.72%. The company had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company’s core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.