Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL Stake Lowered by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 461,693 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,392 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $39,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,409.1% in the third quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 55.5% during the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 356 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Gould Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the 1st quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $97.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.23. The company has a market capitalization of $77.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.22. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $101.18.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Noel Wallace sold 20,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 359,700 shares in the company, valued at $36,063,522. The trade was a 5.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 23,376 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,679,132.15. The trade was a 46.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,414 shares of company stock valued at $7,613,786. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CL shares. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $101.00 price objective (up from $99.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.22.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.