Employees Retirement System of Texas Cuts Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 578,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 74,077 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.07% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $52,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One equities 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 data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.12.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.02. 6,317,272 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,706,422. The stock has a market cap of $75.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.27. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year 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 results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.