Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 173,721 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,151 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $15,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL opened at $90.29 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 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.38. The company has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 56.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CL. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

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.