Pacifica Partners Inc. Acquires 7,605 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 681.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,721 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,605 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 2nd quarter worth about $960,390,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 242.3% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 5,324,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,962,000 after buying an additional 3,768,784 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3,052.2% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,697,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,602,000 after buying an additional 2,611,485 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.7% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,077,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,719,000 after buying an additional 2,572,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 6,294,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,505,000 after buying an additional 1,850,412 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CL. Barclays lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $93.00 target price on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,851 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total value of $1,506,320.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,306,757.53. The trade was a 53.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 17,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,663,041.25. The trade was a 54.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,683 shares of company stock valued at $17,486,693. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL opened at $85.14 on Monday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a fifty-two week low of $74.54 and a fifty-two week high of $99.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.36. The stock has a market cap of $68.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its 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 net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 353.72%. The firm had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.