10 Best Soaps and Cleaning Materials Stocks to Invest In

3. Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54

The Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) manufactures and sells various products for the personal and home care markets and operates in two product segments: Oral, Personal, and Home Care, and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal, and Home Care segment sells cleaning products worldwide. Its brand portfolio includes several reputable brands, including Colgate, Palmolive, Irish Spring, Sorriso, Protex, meridol, Axion, Sanex, and others.

The company’s business is performing very strongly. Its strategy of delivering premium innovation and impact core products, improving brand health and household penetration, and increasing its advertising spending is yielding results. In fiscal Q3 2024, the company delivered volume growth in all six divisions for the second consecutive quarter, along with 3% and 4.6% growth in developed and emerging markets, respectively.

The Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) is geographically diversified, which gives it a competitive industry advantage. North America made up only 20% of its fiscal Q3 2024 sales, with the rest coming from Latin America (23%), Europe (15%), Asia Pacific (14%), and Africa/Eurasia (6%). Furthermore, the company has paid uninterrupted dividends since 1895, another reason why investors are bullish on the stock. It has increased its dividend for 61 consecutive years and now yields 2.2%, higher than the S&P 500 yield of 1.2%. It ranks third on our list.

ClearBridge Investments’ ClearBridge Sustainability Leaders Strategy stated the following regarding Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL), added to the portfolio in 2023, started outperforming materially toward the tail end of last year as growth, margin and market share momentum began to turn favorably, and that momentum has continued year to date as the stock has nicely outperformed the large cap staples group. The fundamental upside has been driven by a combination of healthy organic growth (with positive volumes), good gross margin progression, and strong re-investment spending supporting market share gains and future growth.”