Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Trims Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management cut its Colgate-Palmolive stake by 26% in the fourth quarter, selling 58,287 shares and leaving it with 165,951 shares worth about $13.1 million.
• Other large investors remained active in the stock, with firms like Vanguard, Invesco, and Diamond Hill increasing positions; institutional investors now own 80.41% of Colgate-Palmolive shares.
• Colgate-Palmolive reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $0.97 versus estimates of $0.94 and revenue of $5.32 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 165,951 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,287 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $13,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,947,987 shares of the company's stock worth $6,633,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,985 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,467,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $676,931,000 after buying an additional 978,943 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.7% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,077,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,719,000 after buying an additional 2,572,796 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,423,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $517,167,000 after buying an additional 314,584 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 6,294,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,505,000 after buying an additional 1,850,412 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.81, for a total transaction of $1,467,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,691.15. This trade represents a 59.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL opened at $87.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.31. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $74.54 and a twelve month high of $99.33. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $86.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 386.76%. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. Colgate-Palmolive's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 82.49%.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company's core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.

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.