Sanders Morris Harris LLC Makes New Investment in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Sanders Morris Harris LLC initiated a Colgate-Palmolive position by purchasing 19,048 shares worth approximately $1.63 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 80.41% of the company.
• Colgate-Palmolive recently beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.99 versus the $0.95 consensus, while revenue rose 4.9% year over year to $5.36 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, or $2.12 annually, representing a 2.3% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $98.11, although insiders sold more than $16.1 million of stock over the past three months.

Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,625,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 83.8% during the 3rd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 18,220 shares of the company's stock worth $1,555,000 after buying an additional 8,305 shares during the last quarter. Three Magnolias Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 8.9% during the third quarter. Three Magnolias Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 487.4% during the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 64,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,520,000 after purchasing an additional 53,681 shares during the last quarter. Stone Summit Wealth LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 123.6% in the third quarter. Stone Summit Wealth LLC now owns 6,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 3,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,409.1% in the third quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 332 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 161,021 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 company'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 value of $920,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,901 shares in the company, valued at $5,974,137.05. The trade was 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 valued at $16,110,903 in the last three months. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,384,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,672,228. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1-year low of $74.54 and a 1-year high of $99.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.87. The stock has a market cap of $73.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 84.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CL. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $101.00 price target (up from $99.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.11.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.