Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Buys 4,200 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 90,253.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,974,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,627,000 after buying an additional 15,956,771 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $644,715,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 151.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,688,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,381,000 after buying an additional 3,427,400 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,370,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,886,000 after buying an additional 3,345,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,915.2% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,793,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,985,000 after buying an additional 1,704,300 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,628,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CL. Barclays increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $87.59 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.93. The stock has a market cap of $72.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $67.62 and a 1 year high of $90.37.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.94%.

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.