abrdn plc Purchases 161,579 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

abrdn plc lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 79.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 364,245 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 161,579 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $29,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CL. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 11,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 43,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,699,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 7,258 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 95.8% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 28,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 14,051 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL opened at $88.33 on Tuesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $90.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.19 and a 200 day moving average of $81.06. The company has a market capitalization of $72.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 71.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following 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. Insiders sold a total of 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

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.