Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Reduces Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,502 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,008 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $5,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CL. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $95.76 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.30. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $77.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive Company 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.