Bank of America Corp DE Makes New Investment in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 6.19 million Colgate-Palmolive shares worth approximately $567.5 million in the second quarter, giving it a 0.78% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 80.41% of the company.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported quarterly EPS of $0.99, exceeding the $0.95 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 4.9% year over year to $5.36 billion.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $99, versus shares opening at $87; however, company insiders sold about $16.1 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,189,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $567,483,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.78% of Colgate-Palmolive at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CL. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,103,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,754,657,000 after buying an additional 304,426 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 8.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,532,417 shares of the company's stock worth $1,240,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,872 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $861,670,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,845,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $857,040,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,044,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $87.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.33. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1-year low of $74.54 and a 1-year high of $99.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $91.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CL. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Cahill sold 4,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.37, for a total value of $389,352.90. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.05, for a total value of $920,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 64,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,974,137.05. This represents a 13.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company NYSE: CL is a global consumer products company focused on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its products are sold in more than 200 countries and territories through retail stores, e-commerce channels and professional networks.

The company's portfolio includes Colgate toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwashes; Palmolive and Softsoap personal care products; Ajax and other household cleaning products; and Hill's Science Diet and Prescription Diet pet foods.

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