Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on CL. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $103.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.11.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of CL stock opened at $93.56 on Thursday. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $75.17 and a fifty-two week high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.45. The company has a market cap of $76.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.42.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 57.31%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total transaction of $4,273,535.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,456,283.86. This represents a 55.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,874.30. The trade was a 16.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter worth about $3,812,000. Gordian Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the third quarter worth about $602,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 224.6% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 795,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,626,000 after purchasing an additional 550,750 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 171.8% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 157,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,294,000 after buying an additional 99,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carrera Capital Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 39,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,066,000 after buying an additional 7,353 shares in the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.