Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 910,861 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company by 84.9%, selling 910,861 shares and retaining 161,881 shares valued at approximately $14.7 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard and Goldman Sachs, increased their stakes in Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter, indicating a mixed sentiment among investors.
• Colgate-Palmolive recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52, reflecting a 2.6% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 58.43%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 84.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,881 shares of the company's stock after selling 910,861 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $14,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,758,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,660,749,000 after purchasing an additional 455,198 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,009,078 shares of the company's stock worth $3,186,651,000 after acquiring an additional 5,269,140 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,980,387 shares of the company's stock worth $747,762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,045,191 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,176,598 shares of the company's stock worth $672,447,000 after acquiring an additional 253,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,976,654 shares of the company's stock worth $653,761,000 after purchasing an additional 177,833 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $79.36 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.35. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $79.29 and a twelve month high of $104.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.00.

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.

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