Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $102.06.

CL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CL. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of CL stock opened at $93.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.