NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan Trims Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan trimmed its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,400 shares during the quarter. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 370,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,498,000 after purchasing an additional 74,337 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 10,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 4,053,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,115,000 after purchasing an additional 49,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE CL traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $91.01. The company had a trading volume of 7,417,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,589,879. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $67.62 and a 1-year high of $92.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.51 and a 200 day moving average of $81.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 71.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total transaction of $299,562.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.50.

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.