Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 43.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,918 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,113 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $645,719,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572,796 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 6,294,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850,412 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 360.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,126,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,972,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664,949 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3,896.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,189,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,026,985 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CL shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 15,000 shares of the business’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 value of $1,467,150.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,018,691.15. The trade was a 59.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $86.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.33, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.46. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12 month low of $74.54 and a 12 month high of $99.33. The company has a market capitalization of $69.54 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.31.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.03. The company 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%. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 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.