Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CL. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.61.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

CL stock opened at $91.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.44. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $88.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.27.

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

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CL. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,246,000 after purchasing an additional 40,324 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 11,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,241,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 142.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.