Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

CL has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $93.25 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $89.62 and its 200-day moving average is $93.80. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,303,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,391,261,000 after purchasing an additional 588,230 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 48,436,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,028,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,784,411 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,868,723,000 after acquiring an additional 324,683 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at $912,375,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,497,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,447,000 after purchasing an additional 993,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

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.