Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.39.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $89.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $85.32 and a 1-year high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 58.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CL. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 111.1% during the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,913.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 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.