Ieq Capital LLC Sells 53,395 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC significantly reduced its position in Colgate-Palmolive Company by 92%, now holding only 4,613 shares worth $432,000.
• In recent hedge fund activities, Westend Capital Management LLC increased its holdings by 111.1%, and Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position by an astonishing 1,913.3%.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported a net margin of 14.55% and earnings per share of $0.92 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Ieq Capital LLC decreased its position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 92.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,613 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,395 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,009,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,186,651,000 after acquiring an additional 5,269,140 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $217,593,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,980,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,045,191 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,369,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,562,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on CL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.00.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL traded up $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,024,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,193,037. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $86.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.35. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12 month low of $82.40 and a 12 month high of $107.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.03 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 377.63% and a net margin of 14.55%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.43%.

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.