Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CL. StockNews.com upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, October 30th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. HSBC initiated coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. They set a buy rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised Colgate-Palmolive from a hold rating to a buy rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $82.57.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $75.98 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.46. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $82.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 21.40, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 27th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.81 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 533.40% and a net margin of 8.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, October 23rd were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 20th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 48,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.37, for a total value of $3,567,762.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,120,115.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.11, for a total value of $225,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $401,613.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 48,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.37, for a total value of $3,567,762.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,120,115.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,153 shares of company stock worth $6,851,466 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 48.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.36% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products worldwide. The company 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.