Maple Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Maple Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,632 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,555 shares during the quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $13,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CL. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 11.0% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,047,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,681,000 after acquiring an additional 202,379 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter worth $5,373,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 422,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,758,000 after purchasing an additional 16,017 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,346,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,646,000 after purchasing an additional 409,710 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,751,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,522,129,000 after purchasing an additional 993,432 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CL. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.75.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $89.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.83. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a fifty-two week low of $74.54 and a fifty-two week high of $99.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.31.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.13 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 353.72% and a net margin of 10.45%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.39%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total value of $1,506,320.53. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,306,757.53. This trade represents a 53.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.61, for a total transaction of $3,311,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $985,363.15. This trade represents a 77.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 184,683 shares of company stock valued at $17,486,693. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company’s core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.