Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 66,180 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 251,628 shares of the company's stock after selling 66,180 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $23,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 973,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,494,000 after acquiring an additional 114,855 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $304,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 685,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,339,000 after buying an additional 15,142 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,974,000 after buying an additional 3,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Autumn Glory Partners LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 67.4% in the 1st quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 8,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 3,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL stock opened at $87.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50-day moving average is $90.99 and its 200-day moving average is $90.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.96, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 461.04%. The company had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CL. Citigroup raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.69.

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.

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