Bright Rock Capital Management LLC Sells 65,000 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Bright Rock Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 52.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 65,000 shares during the quarter. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,494,000 after purchasing an additional 114,855 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $311,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $304,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 685,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 15,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,974,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL traded down $2.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.20. 5,331,970 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,757,255. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $91.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.38. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is 58.76%.

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.