California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 27.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,568,549 shares of the company’s stock after selling 968,287 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.32% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $205,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CL. S.A. Mason LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 3,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 16,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the second quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,094,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.5% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 97,843 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.27, for a total transaction of $9,223,659.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,214,073.70. This trade represents a 63.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total value of $1,978,213.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,663,041.25. This represents a 54.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 184,683 shares of company stock worth $17,486,693. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of CL stock opened at $88.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a one year low of $74.54 and a one year high of $99.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.22. The company has a market capitalization of $71.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.28.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 353.72%. The company had revenue of $5.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company’s core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.