Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Reduces Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 40,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,829 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $3,204,000 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 stock. M&G Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 49,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,942,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. &PARTNERS boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 17,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 30,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CL traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $94.58. The company had a trading volume of 500,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,558,031. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.17. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $95.59. The company has a market capitalization of $77.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CL. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Argus lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.35.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total transaction of $326,864.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,328.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $1,149,977.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,309,691.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.