American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 42.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,582,930 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,625,828 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.44% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $347,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 45,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,659,000 after buying an additional 22,073 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd now owns 383,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,594,000 after purchasing an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $3,269,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter valued at $911,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,154,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,969,000 after purchasing an additional 26,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE:CL opened at $106.09 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $101.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.96.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,874.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.63.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

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.