Mondrian Investment Partners LTD Trims Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD decreased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 99.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,124,518 shares during the quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,894,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,368,378,000 after purchasing an additional 416,853 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,067,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,698,096,000 after buying an additional 8,933,912 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,969,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,400,000 after buying an additional 2,593,313 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 6,987,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,220,000 after buying an additional 278,150 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 108.4% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,682,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955,442 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,874.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 10,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.10, for a total transaction of $1,085,952.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,868.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,874.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Colgate-Palmolive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $107.00 to $109.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $103.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.79.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $104.59 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $102.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

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.