Bank of America Lowers Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Price Target to $102.00

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 20.99% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on CL. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.13.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $84.31 on Friday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $74.54 and a 1 year high of $99.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $67.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $90.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.59.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 353.72%. The company had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Colgate-Palmolive’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 97,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.27, for a total value of $9,223,659.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,214,073.70. This trade represents a 63.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.81, for a total transaction of $1,467,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,018,691.15. This trade represents a 59.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 184,683 shares of company stock worth $17,486,693 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 11.0% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,047,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,681,000 after acquiring an additional 202,379 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter worth about $5,373,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 422,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,758,000 after acquiring an additional 16,017 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 43.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,346,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,646,000 after acquiring an additional 409,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 248.5% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 87,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,909,000 after acquiring an additional 62,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.