Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 21.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,068 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,005 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $11,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 14.5% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,449,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,509,000 after buying an additional 182,970 shares during the period. SummitTX Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,525,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,018,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,034,000 after buying an additional 250,620 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 12,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 134,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.82.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $91.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.96 and a 200-day moving average of $89.42. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52 week low of $74.54 and a 52 week high of $99.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 386.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 82.49%.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.