Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Shares Purchased by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,917 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $16,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $85.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1 year low of $74.54 and a 1 year high of $99.33. The company has a market capitalization of $68.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $87.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.15.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 386.76% and a net margin of 10.04%.The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 82.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CL. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.61, for a total value of $3,311,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $985,363.15. The trade was a 77.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total transaction of $1,978,213.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,663,041.25. This represents a 54.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 184,683 shares of company stock worth $17,486,693. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

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.