Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Decreases Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 388,177 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,198 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $34,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 560.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 288,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,999,000 after acquiring an additional 244,834 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 45,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,659,000 after acquiring an additional 22,073 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 182,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,569,000 after acquiring an additional 13,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd now owns 383,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,594,000 after acquiring an additional 139,429 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $1.74 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $101.13. The stock had a trading volume of 3,235,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,391,782. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.83 and a 200-day moving average of $90.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $82.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $67.62 and a 12-month high of $101.42.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 470.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,328.07. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total transaction of $326,864.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $297,328.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $1,149,977.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CL. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.42.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.