Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.39.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 1.6 %

CL opened at $90.69 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 137,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% in the first quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 5,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 564.3% during the first quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 20,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,000 after buying an additional 17,334 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% in the first quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 30,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 341.4% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 2,390 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.