Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,843,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.22% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $178,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $731,843,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,067,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,698,096,000 after buying an additional 8,933,912 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter worth about $286,370,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 108.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,682,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 40.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,969,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,400,000 after buying an additional 2,593,313 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL opened at $105.73 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $67.62 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.11 and a 200-day moving average of $95.29.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CL. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $1,522,894.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,146 shares in the company, valued at $529,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $1,522,894.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $529,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,490 shares of company stock valued at $4,486,063 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.