Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 30,063 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 571% compared to the typical volume of 4,482 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $2,502,634.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,330,892.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $2,502,634.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,330,892.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at $22,797,983.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Union Savings Bank increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $87.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $71.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.78. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $90.37.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 69.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

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.