First Eagle Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management slightly increased its Colgate-Palmolive stake in the fourth quarter, adding 29,876 shares and bringing its total holding to 7.92 million shares valued at about $625.8 million.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.97 versus the $0.94 consensus and revenue of $5.32 billion, up 8.4% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.52, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $95.88.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,918,979 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,876 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.98% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $625,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sunpointe LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 9,595 shares of the company's stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 20,744 shares of the company's stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 15,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.81, for a total value of $1,467,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,018,691.15. The trade was a 59.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $86.68 on Tuesday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $74.54 and a 52-week high of $99.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.33, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 386.76% and a net margin of 10.04%.The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CL. Bank of America dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given 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 $95.88.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company's core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.

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