Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Holdings Boosted by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management increased its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 20.8% in the third quarter, purchasing 251,530 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 1.46 million shares worth approximately $124.6 million.
• Institutional investors own 80.41% of Colgate-Palmolive, while insiders sold 175,191 shares worth $16.1 million during the last quarter, including sales by the CEO and a director.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $98.94. The company also reported quarterly EPS of $0.99, above estimates, and declared a $0.53 quarterly dividend yielding about 2.5%.

Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,460,902 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 251,530 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive makes up 1.9% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $124,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,195,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,635,889,000 after buying an additional 46,476,510 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 172.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,521,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,067,211,000 after acquiring an additional 7,927,238 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the second quarter valued at approximately $567,483,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 266.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,146,337 shares of the company's stock worth $380,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,682,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John T. Cahill sold 4,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.37, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 12.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 161,021 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $14,801,050.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 362,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,296,273.52. This trade represents a 30.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 175,191 shares of company stock valued at $16,110,903 over the last quarter. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $103.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.94.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.6%

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $84.78. 1,438,092 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,705,399. 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 50-day simple moving average is $89.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.84. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a fifty-two week low of $74.54 and a fifty-two week high of $99.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.36 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 9.68% and a return on equity of 464.63%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 20th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.13%.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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, mouthwashes, body washes, deodorants, soaps, household cleaning products and pet food and treats.

The company markets many of its products under well-known brands, including Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, meridol, Protex, Softsoap, Ajax, Irish Spring, Speed Stick, Tom's of Maine and Hill's Science Diet.

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