Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Purchases 35,679 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 21.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,679 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 35,679 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive comprises 0.8% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $19,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,894,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,368,378,000 after buying an additional 416,853 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,067,130 shares of the company's stock worth $3,698,096,000 after purchasing an additional 8,933,912 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,969,498 shares of the company's stock worth $870,400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,593,313 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 6,987,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,220,000 after purchasing an additional 278,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 108.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,682,280 shares of the company's stock worth $551,367,000 after buying an additional 2,955,442 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CL traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.65. The company had a trading volume of 4,461,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,337,843. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.21. The firm has a market cap of $85.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $67.62 and a 1-year high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 470.19%. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,874.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.28, for a total value of $1,636,988.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,439,929.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CL. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.74.

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.