Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock: Insider Noel Wallace Sells 20,000 Shares

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) CEO Noel Wallace sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.26, for a total transaction of $2,005,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 359,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,063,522. This represents a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:CL opened at $96.61 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $101.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.97.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.34 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 607.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 83.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $89.00 price target (up from $88.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,195,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,635,889,000 after buying an additional 46,476,510 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 172.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,521,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,211,000 after acquiring an additional 7,927,238 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter valued at $567,483,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 266.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,146,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 151.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,276,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575,530 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive is a global consumer products company whose business spans oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its products include toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, soaps, shampoos, cleaning products and pet food.

The company’s best-known brands include Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, Softsoap, Ajax and Hill’s Pet Nutrition. It sells products through retail and other channels in markets around the world.

Founded in 1806 by William Colgate as a soap and candle business in New York City, the company has grown into an international manufacturer of household and personal care products.