Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,149 shares of the company’s stock after selling 774 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB raised its stake 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 worth $306,246,000 after purchasing an additional 40,324 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,117,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 68,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,158,000 after buying an additional 3,543 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 13,776.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 435,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,248,000 after acquiring an additional 432,730 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,177,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.16.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $89.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $84.45 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.91.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. 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.