Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Stock: Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings

Key Points

• Birch Hill Investment Advisors increased its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 29.8% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 59,430 shares valued at approximately $5.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.41% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 13 Buy ratings and seven Holds; Colgate-Palmolive has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $97.95.
• Colgate-Palmolive exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.99 EPS and $5.36 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 4.9% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 2.3% yield.

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,430 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,629 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 29.0% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 639,604 shares of the company's stock worth $58,639,000 after purchasing an additional 143,812 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the second quarter valued at $567,483,000. Brandywine Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 35,612.3% during the first quarter. Brandywine Financial Group now owns 72,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,209,000 after acquiring an additional 72,649 shares during the period. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter worth about $91,149,000. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the second quarter valued at about $11,554,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $89.00 target price (up from $88.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $106.00 price target on Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Thursday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Noel Wallace sold 161,021 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $14,801,050.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 362,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,296,273.52. The trade was a 30.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 10,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.05, for a total transaction of $920,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,974,137.05. This trade represents a 13.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,191 shares of company stock worth $16,110,903. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $94.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $74.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.33. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a one year low of $74.54 and a one year high of $99.33. The stock's 50-day moving average is $89.05 and its 200-day moving average is $89.02.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 84.13%.

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 portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, liquid hand soap, body wash, deodorants, household cleaning products and pet food and treats.

The company markets well-known brands such as Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, meridol, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Ajax, Protex and Hill's Science Diet. Colgate-Palmolive also provides veterinary and nutritional products through Hill's Pet Nutrition, which serves pet owners and animal health professionals.

Founded in 1806 by William Colgate, the company developed from a soap and candle business into a diversified consumer goods manufacturer.

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