Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $94.75.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 1.9%

CL opened at $87.94 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $74.54 and a 12 month high of $99.33. The company has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.89 and a 200 day moving average of $83.20.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 353.72% and a net margin of 10.45%.The company had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total value of $1,506,320.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,306,757.53. The trade was a 53.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.61, for a total transaction of $3,311,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $985,363.15. This represents a 77.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 184,683 shares of company stock valued at $17,486,693. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,947,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,633,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,985 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,103,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,754,657,000 after buying an additional 304,426 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,246,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,520,836,000 after buying an additional 323,367 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $861,670,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,845,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $857,040,000 after acquiring an additional 2,746,920 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company’s core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.