Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $98.94

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy”: Thirteen of 19 analysts recommend buying Colgate-Palmolive, while six rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $98.94, above the reported share price of $86.51.
• Colgate-Palmolive exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.99 EPS versus the $0.95 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $5.36 billion and increased 4.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.12 dividend and a 2.5% yield. Insiders sold shares recently, including a CEO sale partly related to tax withholding on vested equity awards.

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.94.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $106.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL opened at $86.51 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $90.04 and its 200-day moving average is $88.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.33. Colgate-Palmolive has a fifty-two week low of $74.54 and a fifty-two week high of $99.33.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.36 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 9.68% and a return on equity of 464.63%. Colgate-Palmolive's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.87 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, Director John Cahill sold 4,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.37, for a total transaction of $389,352.90. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,373 shares in the company, valued at $2,649,187.01. This trade represents a 12.81% 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, CEO Noel Wallace sold 161,021 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $14,801,050.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 362,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,296,273.52. The trade was a 30.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 175,191 shares of company stock worth $16,110,903 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,195,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,635,889,000 after buying an additional 46,476,510 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 8.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,532,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,240,652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010,872 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,845,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $857,040,000 after acquiring an additional 2,746,920 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.1% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,205,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $752,298,000 after purchasing an additional 88,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 17.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,637,597 shares of the company's stock worth $565,722,000 after purchasing an additional 986,063 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company NYSE: CL is a global consumer products company focused on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, body washes, deodorants, soaps, household cleaning products and pet food and treats.

The company markets many of its products under well-known brands, including Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, meridol, Protex, Softsoap, Ajax, Irish Spring, Speed Stick, Tom's of Maine and Hill's Science Diet.

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