State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $28.66 Million Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury reduced its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 315,204 shares of the company's stock after selling 90,555 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $28,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the fourth quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,268 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $132,405,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $1.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $93.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,598,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,668,639. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The business's 50-day moving average price is $91.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.27. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The firm has a market cap of $76.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.17.

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.