Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Price Target Raised to $109.00

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $105.00 to $109.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

CL has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $89.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $95.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $91.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.36.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Cushing Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 1st quarter valued at about $965,000. Bfsg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 83,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,866,000 after buying an additional 1,859 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,269,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.9% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 69,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,469,000 after buying an additional 3,201 shares in the last quarter. 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.