22,696 Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Shares Acquired by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Key Points

• Salem Investment Counselors increased its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 32.6% in the third quarter, purchasing 22,696 shares and bringing its holdings to 92,401 shares worth approximately $7.9 million. Other institutional investors also expanded their positions, with institutions owning 80.41% of the stock.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported quarterly earnings of $0.99 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.95, while revenue rose 4.9% year over year to $5.36 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 2.4% yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $98.11 versus the stock’s recent price of $89.97, although company insiders sold 175,191 shares worth about $16.1 million over the past three months.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 92,401 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,696 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $7,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 637.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 20,022 shares of the company's stock worth $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 17,308 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 152.1% in the third quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 11,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 6,967 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 255.2% in the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 15,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 11,291 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 46.4% in the third quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Finally, Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.3% in the third quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 7,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $89.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.05 and a 200-day moving average of $88.87. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $74.54 and a 52-week high of $99.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 464.63% and a net margin of 9.68%. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.13%.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.05, for a total transaction of $920,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 64,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,974,137.05. The trade was a 13.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John T. Cahill sold 4,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 28,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,649,187.01. This trade represents a 12.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 175,191 shares of company stock worth $16,110,903 in the last three months. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CL. Weiss Ratings downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $104.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price objective (up from $99.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.11.

Colgate-Palmolive 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, mouthwashes, body washes, deodorants, soaps, household cleaning products and pet food and treats.

The company markets many of its products under well-known brands, including Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, meridol, Protex, Softsoap, Ajax, Irish Spring, Speed Stick, Tom's of Maine and Hill's Science Diet.

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