Employees Retirement System of Texas Lowers Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 578,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,077 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $52,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL opened at $91.75 on Monday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $90.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

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.