Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Short Interest Up 20.3% in September

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,200,000 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the September 15th total of 8,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total value of $1,636,988.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,439,929.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total transaction of $1,522,894.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,729.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CL. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter worth about $911,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,154,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,969,000 after acquiring an additional 26,987 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 277.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,979,000 after purchasing an additional 24,314 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter valued at $3,812,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 598,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,901,000 after purchasing an additional 175,445 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CL traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $101.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,637,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,331,811. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $103.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.41. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $71.22 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The company has a market capitalization of $83.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Colgate-Palmolive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.00.

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.