Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Equal Weight Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $86.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $77.00.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler set a $88.00 price objective on Colgate-Palmolive and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $98.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.94.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 2.0%

CL traded up $1.62 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,819,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,842,688. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1-year low of $74.54 and a 1-year high of $100.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.90, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.98 and a 200-day moving average of $81.82.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.47% and a return on equity of 333.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is 58.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,751,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,522,129,000 after acquiring an additional 993,432 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the second quarter valued at approximately $960,390,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 13.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,467,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,931,000 after purchasing an additional 978,943 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,077,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,719,000 after buying an additional 2,572,796 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,423,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $517,167,000 after purchasing an additional 314,584 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company’s core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.