Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04, RTT News reports. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Colgate-Palmolive updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.9 %

CL traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $91.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,264,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,579,159. The firm has a market cap of $74.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $92.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.30.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $2,502,634.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at $25,330,892.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $2,502,634.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,330,892.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James raised 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, TheStreet upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.50.

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.