Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 5,269,140 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. has increased its ownership of Colgate-Palmolive Company by 18.3%, acquiring an additional 5,269,140 shares, raising its total holdings to approximately 34 million shares valued at over $3.18 billion.
• Colgate-Palmolive's stock has attracted interest from other institutional investors, with 80.41% of shares owned by hedge funds and institutions, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• The company recently reported earnings of $0.92 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.4%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,009,078 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,269,140 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 4.20% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $3,186,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TFB Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the first quarter valued at $212,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 103.8% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 5,204 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter valued at $227,000. Humankind Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 23,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 14,791 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,386,000 after buying an additional 3,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded down $0.5010 on Friday, reaching $85.7790. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,087,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,056,872. The company has a market capitalization of $69.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $87.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.93. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52 week low of $82.40 and a 52 week high of $109.30. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 377.63% and a net margin of 14.55%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.