StockNews.com Upgrades Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $109.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.11.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

NYSE CL opened at $96.76 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $75.50 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.31%.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total value of $4,273,535.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 36,726 shares in the company, valued at $3,456,283.86. The trade was a 55.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CL. Gordian Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at about $602,000. Carrera Capital Advisors boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 23.1% during the third quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,066,000 after acquiring an additional 7,353 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 224.6% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 795,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,626,000 after purchasing an additional 550,750 shares during the period. PGGM Investments increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 171.8% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 157,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,294,000 after acquiring an additional 99,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 11.2% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 57,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,558,000 after purchasing an additional 5,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

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.