Trexquant Investment LP Increases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 65.5% to $36.09 million, making it the fund's 24th largest position.
• Colgate-Palmolive recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, reflecting a 2.5% yield.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Colgate-Palmolive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.92.

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 65.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 385,198 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 152,417 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive accounts for 0.4% of Trexquant Investment LP's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $36,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter worth $217,593,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,980,387 shares of the company's stock worth $747,762,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045,191 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock worth $629,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,562,968 shares of the company's stock worth $521,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group lowered 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $84.04. The company had a trading volume of 3,934,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,656,227. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52 week low of $82.40 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

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