Brokerages Set Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Target Price at $102.17

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $102.17.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CL shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the 4th quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353,268 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,865 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Performance

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $92.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $75.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $85.32 and a one year high of $109.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.92 and its 200-day moving average is $92.27.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.09%.

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

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.