Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Price Target to $97.00

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $97.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 0.35% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CL. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.11.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.34. 504,360 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,419,501. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $99.08. The firm has a market cap of $79.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.81 and a 200-day moving average of $88.56.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total transaction of $326,864.59. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $297,328.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $297,328.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Trust boosted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.7% in the first quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 6,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.5% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. M&G Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 49,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,942,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% in the first quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 3,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.