Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Stock Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 39.8% in the third quarter, selling 283,524 shares and retaining 429,702 shares valued at about $36.7 million.
• Colgate-Palmolive beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.97 versus $0.93 expected and revenue of $5.37 billion, up 4.6% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 2.2%; analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy.”

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 39.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 429,702 shares of the company's stock after selling 283,524 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.05% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $36,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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 purchasing an additional 46,476,510 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 8.1% in the second 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 buying an additional 1,010,872 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.1% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,205,699 shares of the company's stock worth $752,298,000 after buying an additional 88,917 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 17.4% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 19.9% during the second 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. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:CL opened at $97.95 on Wednesday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $101.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.23, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $77.86 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.31. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $90.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.10.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 83.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $101.00 target price (up from $99.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 20,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total transaction of $2,005,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 359,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,063,522. The trade was a 5.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 23,376 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.15, for a total value of $2,317,730.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,021 shares in the company, valued at $2,679,132.15. This trade 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. Insiders have sold a total of 73,314 shares of company stock valued at $7,212,109 over the last 90 days. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

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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