Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CL. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $91.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.13. The firm has a market cap of $74.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is 59.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CL. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.4% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 445,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,260,000 after acquiring an additional 14,844 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 386.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter worth $235,000. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter valued at $8,482,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 63.9% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 795,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,539,000 after buying an additional 310,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

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.