Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Holdings Trimmed by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 7.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 388,177 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,198 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $34,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $731,843,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4,162.6% during the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,016,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968,988 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter worth about $130,622,000. Finally, Ossiam raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 368.4% during the 1st quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,563,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $1,149,977.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $1,149,977.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,309,691.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,328.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL traded up $1.74 during trading on Monday, hitting $101.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,235,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,391,782. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $101.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.39.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Argus increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. TD Cowen started coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.42.

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.