94,100 Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Shares Sold by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• PineStone Asset Management reduced its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 6.4%, selling 94,100 shares and retaining 1.37 million shares worth approximately $116.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.41% of the company.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported quarterly EPS of $0.99, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue rose 4.9% year over year to $5.36 billion. Shares opened at $94.02, up 1.5%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.12 payout and a 2.3% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $97.95.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,368,699 shares of the company's stock after selling 94,100 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive comprises 0.8% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.17% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $116,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 29.0% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 639,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,639,000 after buying an additional 143,812 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the second quarter valued at about $567,483,000. Brandywine Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 35,612.3% during the first quarter. Brandywine Financial Group now owns 72,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,209,000 after acquiring an additional 72,649 shares in the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter worth about $91,149,000. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the second quarter worth about $11,554,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE CL opened at $94.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12 month low of $74.54 and a 12 month high of $99.33. The company's fifty day moving average price is $89.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.02.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 9.68% and a return on equity of 464.63%. The company's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 20th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CL. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $104.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Thirteen research 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 a consensus target price of $97.95.

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, 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.

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