Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Stock: Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Reduces Holdings

Key Points

• Villere ST Denis J & Co. cut its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 6.7% in the third quarter, selling 12,967 shares and ending the period with 180,255 shares valued at about $15.4 million.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported quarterly EPS of $0.97, beating the $0.93 consensus, while revenue of $5.37 billion topped estimates and rose 4.6% year over year.
• Analysts’ average rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $101.22; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC cut its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,255 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,967 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive comprises approximately 1.6% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $15,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,409.1% during the third quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 332 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 55.5% in the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 356 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Gould Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the first quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 412 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL opened at $97.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.23, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $77.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.39, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.04. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $101.18.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 607.88% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 19,938 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.74, for a total value of $1,968,678.12. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $899,620.14. The trade was a 68.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Noel Wallace sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $36,063,522. This represents a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,314 shares of company stock valued at $7,212,109. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CL. Evercore raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.22.

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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