HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 24,078 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.6%, holding 909,750 shares worth approximately $85.24 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Colgate-Palmolive recently announced a $0.52 quarterly dividend which has a 2.4% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 58.43%.
• In the latest earnings report, Colgate-Palmolive exceeded expectations with an EPS of $0.92 and a revenue of $5.11 billion, marking a 1.0% year-over-year revenue increase.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 909,750 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,078 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $85,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter worth approximately $285,000. Vision Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter worth approximately $322,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 67.4% during the first quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 8,905 shares of the company's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 3,586 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the first quarter valued at $2,166,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 398.6% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 10,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 8,515 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $85.02. 4,150,397 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,861,582. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $82.40 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $68.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.35.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.03 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 377.63%. Colgate-Palmolive's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on CL shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.