Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors cut its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 49.7% in the third quarter, selling 142,604 shares and retaining 144,575 shares valued at about $12.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall: 13 analysts rate the stock Buy and seven Hold, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $101.22.
• Colgate-Palmolive beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.97 per share and $5.37 billion in revenue; it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Calamos Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,575 shares of the company's stock after selling 142,604 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $12,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CL. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 101.9% during the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 5,390 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 2,720 shares during the period. Claro Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 10,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Collaborative Fund Advisors LLC now owns 8,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 28,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,681,000 after acquiring an additional 5,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CL. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.22.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel Wallace sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total value of $2,005,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 359,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,063,522. This trade represents a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 23,376 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.15, for a total value of $2,317,730.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,679,132.15. This represents a 46.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 73,314 shares of company stock worth $7,212,109. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL opened at $96.61 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $101.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.97. The company has a market cap of $76.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.23.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 607.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 20th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is currently 83.14%.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive is a global consumer products company whose business spans oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its products include toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, soaps, shampoos, cleaning products and pet food.

The company's best-known brands include Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, Softsoap, Ajax and Hill's Pet Nutrition. It sells products through retail and other channels in markets around the world.

Founded in 1806 by William Colgate as a soap and candle business in New York City, the company has grown into an international manufacturer of household and personal care products.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.