Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,172,721 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171,434 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $173,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. 111 Capital bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $460,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 106,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,479,000 after acquiring an additional 26,713 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 11,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 4,525 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 26,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 5,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 68,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,506,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CL. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $93.00 price target on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, February 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 97,843 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.27, for a total value of $9,223,659.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,214,073.70. This represents a 63.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total transaction of $1,978,213.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,663,041.25. This trade represents a 54.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 184,683 shares of company stock valued at $17,486,693. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:CL opened at $95.34 on Wednesday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a one year low of $74.54 and a one year high of $100.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $88.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 353.72% and a net margin of 10.45%.The business had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.