Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 4,443 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 71% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,605 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, Director John Cahill sold 4,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.37, for a total value of $389,352.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,373 shares in the company, valued at $2,649,187.01. This represents a 12.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Noel Wallace sold 161,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $14,801,050.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 362,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,296,273.52. The trade was a 30.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 175,191 shares of company stock valued at $16,110,903 over the last quarter. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CL. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 51,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,417,000 after buying an additional 12,365 shares during the period. XXI Wealth LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 18.0% during the third quarter. XXI Wealth LLC now owns 3,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL traded down $3.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 538,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,626,829. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.33. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $74.54 and a 1-year high of $99.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 464.63% and a net margin of 9.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.13%.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) is a global consumer products company focused on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, liquid hand soap, body wash, deodorants, household cleaning products and pet food and treats.

The company markets well-known brands such as Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, meridol, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Ajax, Protex and Hill’s Science Diet. Colgate-Palmolive also provides veterinary and nutritional products through Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which serves pet owners and animal health professionals.

Founded in 1806 by William Colgate, the company developed from a soap and candle business into a diversified consumer goods manufacturer.