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

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,560,000 shares, a drop of 5.2% from the January 15th total of 10,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.16.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CL. Creative Planning raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 218,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,632,000 after purchasing an additional 4,372 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,246,000 after buying an additional 40,324 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 314.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 3,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $87.32 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $70.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $83.70 and a one year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.82%.

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.