Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.50.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at $22,797,983.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 8,930 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.35, for a total transaction of $762,175.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,043 shares in the company, valued at $686,470.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total transaction of $4,157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,797,983.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Union Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CL stock opened at $86.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.02 and its 200-day moving average is $80.67. The stock has a market cap of $71.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $90.37.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 71.94%.

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.