Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Stock: AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Increases Position

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK increased its Colgate-Palmolive stake 19.8% in the third quarter, adding 142,723 shares to reach 863,616 shares, valued at about $73.7 million.
• Colgate-Palmolive beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations: EPS was $0.97 versus $0.93 expected, while revenue reached $5.37 billion and grew 4.6% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $101.22; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 19.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 863,616 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 142,723 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.11% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $73,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 97.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,195,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,635,889,000 after acquiring an additional 46,476,510 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,532,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,240,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,872 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,205,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $752,298,000 after purchasing an additional 88,917 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,637,597 shares of the company's stock worth $565,722,000 after buying an additional 986,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 6,218,257 shares of the company's stock worth $570,090,000 after buying an additional 1,033,918 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CL. Weiss Ratings lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. 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 note on Monday, November 2nd. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.22.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL opened at $97.90 on Tuesday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $101.18. The stock has a market cap of $77.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.39, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $90.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.04.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 607.88%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.14%.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 19,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.74, for a total transaction of $1,968,678.12. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $899,620.14. This trade represents a 68.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 23,376 shares of Colgate-Palmolive 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 sale, the insider owned 27,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,679,132.15. This represents a 46.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 73,314 shares of company stock valued at $7,212,109 over the last three months. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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