Insider Selling: Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Insider Sells $2,317,730.40 in Stock

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) insider John Hazlin sold 23,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.15, for a total transaction of $2,317,730.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,021 shares in the company, valued at $2,679,132.15. This represents a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE:CL traded down $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.61. The stock had a trading volume of 5,464,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,643,606. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $101.18. The stock has a market cap of $76.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.23, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm 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 607.88% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their target price 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 46,476,510 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 172.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,521,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,211,000 after purchasing an additional 7,927,238 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter worth $567,483,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $380,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 151.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,276,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,894,000 after buying an additional 2,575,530 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive is a global consumer products company whose business spans oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its products include toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, soaps, shampoos, cleaning products and pet food.

The company’s best-known brands include Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, Softsoap, Ajax and Hill’s Pet Nutrition. It sells products through retail and other channels in markets around the world.

Founded in 1806 by William Colgate as a soap and candle business in New York City, the company has grown into an international manufacturer of household and personal care products.