Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 401,663 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 44,893 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $32,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 370,071 shares of the company's stock worth $29,498,000 after acquiring an additional 74,337 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $323,115,000 after purchasing an additional 49,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,170 shares of the company's stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.1 %

CL traded up $1.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,007,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,184,009. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $67.62 and a 52 week high of $95.25. The stock has a market cap of $78.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.95.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total value of $486,128.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,236 shares in the company, valued at $5,309,294.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,309,691.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 5,790 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.96, for a total value of $486,128.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,236 shares in the company, valued at $5,309,294.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 174,771 shares of company stock worth $14,813,688 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.