Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock Price

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $83.00 to $89.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

CL has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

CL opened at $92.73 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $85.32 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.69 and a 200 day moving average of $93.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS 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 2.24%. 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 has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,351,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. 111 Capital purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $377,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 266,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,219,000 after purchasing an additional 11,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Financial Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at about $331,000. 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.