New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,021,848 shares of the company’s stock after selling 119,047 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $95,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CL. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 111.1% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,913.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on CL. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.13.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $89.60 on Monday. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $72.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.49.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.52% and a return on equity of 461.04%. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.76%.

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.