State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 20,620 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company by 7.4%, holding 256,386 shares valued at approximately $24 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Colgate-Palmolive recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.08 and a yield of 2.4%.
• Analysts have shown mixed ratings for Colgate-Palmolive, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.92.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 256,386 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,620 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $24,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter valued at approximately $217,593,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 34.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,980,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,045,191 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company's stock worth $629,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,865 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,562,968 shares of the company's stock worth $521,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $111,738,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.92.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL stock traded up $1.4590 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $85.7190. The stock had a trading volume of 4,548,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,225,339. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.98. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a fifty-two week low of $82.40 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.79, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 377.63%. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.43%.

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.