Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

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

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CL stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $100.73. 2,941,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,346,670. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.06. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $71.07 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.25. The firm has a market cap of $82.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company 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 1.99%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $1,522,894.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,729.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $1,522,894.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total transaction of $1,636,988.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CL. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 218,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,632,000 after purchasing an additional 4,372 shares during the last quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.8% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 13,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 18,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.