Analysts Set Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Price Target at $88.44

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.56.

Several equities analysts recently commented on CL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $85.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $86.83 and a 200 day moving average of $80.37. The stock has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $90.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is currently 71.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total value of $233,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,628,484. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $4,157,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 274,179 shares in the company, valued at $22,797,983.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director C Martin Harris sold 2,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.50, for a total transaction of $233,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,628,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 232,371 shares of company stock valued at $19,505,099 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter valued at $203,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.4% in the first quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 37,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the first quarter worth about $3,505,000. FCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 49.7% in the first quarter. FCF Advisors LLC now owns 62,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,632,000 after purchasing an additional 20,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True North Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 57.9% in the first quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 28,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 10,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.