Employees Retirement System of Texas Has $52.59 Million Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 578,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,077 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.07% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $52,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $91.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The company has a market cap of $74.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.13.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 59.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CL shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

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.