Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 323,619 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,698 shares during the quarter. Colgate-Palmolive makes up 0.5% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $31,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,894,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,368,378,000 after purchasing an additional 416,853 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,067,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,698,096,000 after buying an additional 8,933,912 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $731,843,000. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.1% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 6,987,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,220,000 after acquiring an additional 278,150 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter worth about $286,370,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 this hyperlink. In related news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,874.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 10,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $107.86. The company had a trading volume of 3,937,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,328,661. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $67.62 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The stock has a market cap of $88.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.45.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $103.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.53.

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.