California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 1,211,449 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company $CL

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 39.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,898,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,211,449 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $161,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,947,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,633,570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,985 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,103,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,754,657,000 after purchasing an additional 304,426 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,246,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,836,000 after purchasing an additional 323,367 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 172.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,521,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,211,000 after purchasing an additional 7,927,238 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $861,670,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $92.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $90.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.54. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 52-week low of $74.54 and a 52-week high of $99.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.33, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.03. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.04% and a return on equity of 386.76%. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.41.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company’s core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.