Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Bought by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 77.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,319 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,436 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,894,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,368,378,000 after buying an additional 416,853 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 32,133,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,561,340,000 after buying an additional 4,625,472 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $731,843,000. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 6,709,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,799,000 after buying an additional 86,671 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,426,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,824,000 after buying an additional 77,679 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,328.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $297,328.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.94.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $98.08. 4,229,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,864,903. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.53. The firm has a market cap of $80.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $67.62 and a 1-year high of $99.63.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 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.