Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Colgate-Palmolive Put Options (NYSE:CL)

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders bought 11,231 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 125% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,989 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company's stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CL traded down $2.92 during trading on Monday, reaching $90.99. 7,143,315 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,660,386. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $73.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.39.

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.

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