Aquatic Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,244,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,047,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,681,000 after acquiring an additional 202,379 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at $5,373,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 422,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,758,000 after acquiring an additional 16,017 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 43.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,346,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,646,000 after purchasing an additional 409,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,751,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,522,129,000 after purchasing an additional 993,432 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE CL opened at $88.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $71.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.28. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1-year low of $74.54 and a 1-year high of $99.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $90.11 and a 200-day moving average of $83.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.23 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. Evercore upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $93.00 target price on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 35,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.61, for a total value of $3,311,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $985,363.15. The trade was a 77.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 15,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 184,683 shares of company stock valued at $17,486,693 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

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.