Swedbank AB Boosts Stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company by 20.2%, owning a total of 3,951,970 shares valued at approximately $359 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Baader Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui, made significant adjustments to their positions in Colgate-Palmolive during the second quarter, increasing overall institutional ownership to 80.41%.
• Colgate-Palmolive announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing a yield of 2.5%, set to be paid on November 14th.

Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,951,970 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 664,882 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.49% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $359,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.4% in the fourth 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 period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 75.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 283.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 170,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,537,000 after purchasing an additional 126,300 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 5,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 2.2%

Colgate-Palmolive stock traded down $1.81 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.36. 5,855,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,043,141. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $79.29 and a 52-week high of $104.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $64.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $84.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.05.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 377.63% and a net margin of 14.55%.The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 58.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CL. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.