Westpac Banking Corp Has $6.03 Million Stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 75,447 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,313 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $6,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,751,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,522,129,000 after purchasing an additional 993,432 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $960,390,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,489,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,755,000 after acquiring an additional 621,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 42.9% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,124,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,663,000 after acquiring an additional 1,839,853 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:CL opened at $96.63 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52 week low of $74.54 and a 52 week high of $100.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $77.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.29.

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. The company had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 353.72% and a net margin of 10.45%.Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total value of $1,978,213.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,645 shares in the company, valued at $1,663,041.25. The trade was a 54.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 15,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total transaction of $1,506,320.53. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,306,757.53. This represents a 53.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 184,683 shares of company stock valued at $17,486,693 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. Barclays increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Bank of America upped 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, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.75.

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.