Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Boosts Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Colgate‑Palmolive by 14.2% in Q4 to 211,917 shares (about $16.75M), and several other major institutions (Vanguard, Invesco, Diamond Hill, Ameriprise, Amundi) also increased positions, leaving institutional ownership at roughly 80.41%.
• Colgate reported Q results that beat expectations (EPS $0.97 vs. $0.94; revenue $5.32B vs. $5.22B, +8.4% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 ($2.12 annualized, ~2.5% yield).
• Insiders have been selling recently (184,683 shares worth ~$17.5M over the past 90 days, including CFO sales), while analysts maintain a consensus of Moderate Buy with a $95.81 average price target.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 211,917 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $16,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,947,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,633,570,000 after buying an additional 1,026,985 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.1% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 46.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,423,764 shares of the company's stock worth $517,167,000 after purchasing an additional 314,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 6,294,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,412 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CL. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.81.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE CL opened at $85.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $68.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.31. The firm's fifty day moving average is $87.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a one year low of $74.54 and a one year high of $99.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 386.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is presently 82.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 97,843 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.27, for a total value of $9,223,659.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,310 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,214,073.70. The trade was a 63.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 15,851 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total transaction of $1,506,320.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,306,757.53. The trade was a 53.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 184,683 shares of company stock worth $17,486,693 in the last ninety days. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.

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