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

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CL. Jefferies Financial Group cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $103.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $109.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Colgate-Palmolive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. This trade represents 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 Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total value of $1,636,988.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,490 shares of company stock valued at $4,486,063 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CL. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 46.5% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 150.4% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 666 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $100.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,941,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,346,670. The company has a market cap of $82.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $71.07 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $103.56 and a 200 day moving average of $97.25. 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 (NYSE:CL) last released 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. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 470.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

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.