Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Stock Position in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 44,042 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,392 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $4,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $90.44 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.19 and a 200 day moving average of $94.41. The firm has a market cap of $73.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

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.