Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock: Insider John Hazlin Sells 23,376 Shares

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) insider John Hazlin sold 23,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.15, for a total value of $2,317,730.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,679,132.15. This represents a 46.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded down $2.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,464,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,643,606. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.23. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $101.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.92. The company has a market capitalization of $76.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.31.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.34 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 607.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.91 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 83.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $89.00 target price (up from $88.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,195,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,635,889,000 after acquiring an additional 46,476,510 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 8.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,532,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010,872 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.1% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,205,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $752,298,000 after purchasing an additional 88,917 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,637,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,722,000 after purchasing an additional 986,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 6,218,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,090,000 after buying an additional 1,033,918 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.