First Merchants Corp Lowers Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

First Merchants Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,955 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,312 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 45,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,659,000 after purchasing an additional 22,073 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd now owns 383,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,594,000 after acquiring an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,269,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $911,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 32,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 17,800 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CL. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.11.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total transaction of $1,636,988.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total value of $1,636,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 10,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.10, for a total value of $1,085,952.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,868.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,177 shares of company stock worth $4,245,835 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $104.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $85.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.90. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $67.62 and a 1 year high of $104.34.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.