Advisors Capital Management LLC Sells 205,500 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management cut its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 93%, selling 205,500 shares in Q4 and leaving 15,435 shares valued at about $1.22 million.
• Significant insider selling: CFO Stanley Sutula III sold 97,843 shares (~$9.22M) and COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 35,000 shares (~$3.31M); insiders disposed of 184,683 shares (~$17.49M) in the quarter and now own 0.43% of the stock.
• Company outlook and payout: Colgate beat Q4 EPS and revenue, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, yield 2.5%), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $95.56.

Advisors Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 93.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,435 shares of the company's stock after selling 205,500 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,947,987 shares of the company's stock worth $6,633,570,000 after buying an additional 1,026,985 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,467,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $676,931,000 after acquiring an additional 978,943 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,077,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,719,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572,796 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,423,764 shares of the company's stock worth $517,167,000 after acquiring an additional 314,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 6,294,445 shares of the company's stock worth $487,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,412 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 97,843 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.27, for a total value of $9,223,659.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,214,073.70. The trade was a 63.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.61, for a total transaction of $3,311,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,415 shares in the company, valued at $985,363.15. This represents a 77.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 184,683 shares of company stock worth $17,486,693 over the last quarter. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $84.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.52 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $74.54 and a twelve month high of $99.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.99.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.13 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 353.72%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.85 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.56.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company's core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.

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