Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $93.16, but opened at $98.00. Colgate-Palmolive shares last traded at $95.1870, with a volume of 1,153,125 shares traded.

The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 464.63% and a net margin of 9.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CL shares. UBS Group set a $106.00 target price on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.56.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, Director John T. Cahill sold 4,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.37, for a total transaction of $389,352.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,649,187.01. This represents a 12.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 161,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $14,801,050.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 362,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,296,273.52. This trade represents a 30.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 175,191 shares of company stock worth $16,110,903 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 97.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,195,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,635,889,000 after buying an additional 46,476,510 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 172.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,521,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,211,000 after acquiring an additional 7,927,238 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter worth about $567,483,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 266.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,146,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 151.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,276,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,575,530 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.43 and a 200 day moving average of $89.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $76.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.33.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

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.