HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors cut its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 32.4% in the second quarter, selling 278,102 shares and retaining 579,234 shares worth approximately $53.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.41% of the company.
• Colgate-Palmolive insiders sold 175,191 shares worth about $16.1 million over the past 90 days, including sales by the CEO and COO; the CEO’s transaction was primarily to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $99 target price. The company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $0.99 on revenue of $5.36 billion, while maintaining a $0.53 quarterly dividend.

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 579,234 shares of the company's stock after selling 278,102 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $53,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 76.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 46,361 shares of the company's stock worth $4,344,000 after buying an additional 20,062 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 12,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,136,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 165.5% during the second quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 10,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 6,437 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 21.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 657,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,732,000 after acquiring an additional 116,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, CEO Noel Wallace sold 161,021 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 362,231 shares in the company, valued at $33,296,273.52. This trade represents a 30.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.05, for a total value of $920,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 175,191 shares of company stock worth $16,110,903 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $103.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.00.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.0%

CL stock opened at $88.80 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.77. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $70.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.33. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1-year low of $74.54 and a 1-year high of $99.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.13%.

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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