Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 213,200 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 22.6% in Q1, owning 729,670 shares valued at $68.37 million after selling 213,200 shares.
• Several hedge funds, including Brighton Jones LLC and Brown Advisory Inc., have increased their holdings in Colgate-Palmolive, indicating strong institutional interest with 80.41% of shares held by institutional investors.
• The company recently posted a quarterly EPS of $0.92, beating consensus estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52, reflecting a 2.5% yield.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 22.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 729,670 shares of the company's stock after selling 213,200 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.09% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $68,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 19.4% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 385,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,112,000 after buying an additional 62,702 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter valued at about $5,647,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 14.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 12,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.1% during the first quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 170,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.8% during the first quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,165,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,410,816. The company has a market cap of $68.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.76. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $82.40 and a 52-week high of $109.04.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 377.63%. The company's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.