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

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $105.11.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $109.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total value of $4,273,535.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 36,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,456,283.86. This represents a 55.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter valued at $286,370,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 108.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,682,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,955,442 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,807 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 40.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,969,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,593,313 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,747 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.7 %

CL stock opened at $94.91 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $75.50 and a one year high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $98.10 and its 200 day moving average is $98.51. The firm has a market cap of $77.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.31%.

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.