State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 153,054 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,144 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153,054 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $27,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Union Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 4,971.4% in the first quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $109.00 in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.63.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $106.35 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12-month low of $67.62 and a 12-month high of $109.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.93 and a 200-day moving average of $95.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90. The stock has a market cap of $87.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 10,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.10, for a total value of $1,085,952.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,868.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive 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.