Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Increases Dividend to $0.52 Per Share

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.52 per share on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a 4.0% increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Colgate-Palmolive has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 63 consecutive years. Colgate-Palmolive has a payout ratio of 52.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Colgate-Palmolive to earn $4.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.6%.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CL opened at $94.98 on Tuesday. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $85.32 and a 12 month high of $109.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The company has a market capitalization of $77.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.51.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,578 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.67.

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.