Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Shares Bought by Caprock Group LLC

Key Points

• Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Colgate‑Palmolive (CL) by 116.5% in Q4, adding 34,879 shares to hold 64,808 shares worth about $5.12 million.
• Other institutional investors also made large purchases — including Pacer Advisors, Diamond Hill, Amundi, Two Sigma and SG Americas — leaving institutions owning roughly 80.41% of CL stock.
• Colgate beat quarterly estimates with EPS $0.95 vs. $0.91 and revenue $5.23B (up 5.8% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, yield 2.6%).

Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 116.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,808 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,879 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3,052.2% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,697,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,602,000 after acquiring an additional 2,611,485 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.7% in the third 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 during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 6,294,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,412 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 360.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,126,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $169,972,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664,949 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3,896.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,189,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159,250 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CL stock opened at $82.25 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1 year low of $74.54 and a 1 year high of $99.33. The stock has a market cap of $65.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.34. The business's fifty day moving average is $89.27 and its 200-day moving average is $83.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 353.72% and a net margin of 10.45%.The company had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 80.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 97,843 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.27, for a total value of $9,223,659.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 55,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,214,073.70. This represents a 63.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total value of $1,978,213.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,645 shares in the company, valued at $1,663,041.25. This represents a 54.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 184,683 shares of company stock worth $17,486,693 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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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