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

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.16.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. UBS Group reduced 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 report on Monday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $86.66 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $82.68 and a 52-week high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.44.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,642,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674,807 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,542,000 after buying an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,028,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784,411 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,091,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,731 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 941.9% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,138,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,364 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.