abrdn plc Boosts Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

abrdn plc lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 79.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 364,245 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,579 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $29,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% in the 4th 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. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $88.33 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $72.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $67.62 and a 12-month high of $90.37.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 71.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total value of $762,175.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,470.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total transaction of $5,891,020.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.