Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock Price

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $92.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 6.95% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $93.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.13.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 0.5%

CL opened at $86.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $74.54 and a 52 week high of $99.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.53.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.13 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 353.72% and a net margin of 10.45%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Sally Massey sold 15,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.03, for a total transaction of $1,506,320.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,306,757.53. This represents a 53.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total transaction of $1,978,213.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,663,041.25. The trade was a 54.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 184,683 shares of company stock valued at $17,486,693. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $861,670,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 8,040.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,655,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,666,000 after purchasing an additional 4,598,789 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $236,682,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted 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 worth $857,040,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746,920 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3,052.2% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,697,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,602,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611,485 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.