New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,525,342 shares of the company's stock after selling 240,723 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.19% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $121,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,815,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,195,785,000 after purchasing an additional 514,559 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,452,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $672,198,000 after purchasing an additional 305,862 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,590,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $468,644,000 after acquiring an additional 127,805 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 27.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,597,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 10.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,455,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,005,000 after acquiring an additional 500,916 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL traded up $0.25 on Tuesday, hitting $88.58. 4,014,763 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,556,424. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.19 and a 200-day moving average of $81.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $90.37. The stock has a market cap of $72.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 509.75% and a net margin of 11.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is 71.94%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at $24,161,117.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 61,633 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.93, for a total value of $5,172,857.69. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,948 shares in the company, valued at $4,863,575.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 286,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,161,117.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CL. Raymond James raised Colgate-Palmolive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet raised Colgate-Palmolive from a "c+" rating to a "b+" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.50.

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.