GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 31,620 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• GAMMA Investing LLC nearly doubled its Colgate-Palmolive position in the third quarter, adding 31,620 shares to hold 63,589 shares worth approximately $5.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.41% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.65, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $88.07.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported quarterly EPS of $0.99, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue rose 4.9% year over year to $5.36 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, implying a 2.4% annualized yield.

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 98.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,589 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 31,620 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 97.4% during 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 172.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,521,545 shares of the company's stock worth $1,067,211,000 after purchasing an additional 7,927,238 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $567,483,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 266.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,146,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014,860 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $236,682,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 161,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $14,801,050.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 362,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,296,273.52. This represents a 30.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,974,137.05. The trade was a 13.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 175,191 shares of company stock valued at $16,110,903 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on CL shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $103.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.65.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.0%

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $88.07 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12 month low of $74.54 and a 12 month high of $99.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82. The stock has a market cap of $70.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.33. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $89.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.77.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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, mouthwashes, body washes, deodorants, soaps, household cleaning products and pet food and treats.

The company markets many of its products under well-known brands, including Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, meridol, Protex, Softsoap, Ajax, Irish Spring, Speed Stick, Tom's of Maine and Hill's Science Diet.

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