Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Sets New 52-Week High at $94.40

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $94.40 and last traded at $94.24, with a volume of 527870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Raymond James upgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $76.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.63.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 485.40% and a net margin of 13.22%. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Colgate-Palmolive's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total value of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,629.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 69,948 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.22, for a total value of $5,891,020.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 286,881 shares in the company, valued at $24,161,117.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total value of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,054,629.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 159,048 shares of company stock valued at $13,336,846. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CL. Legacy Trust grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.7% during the first quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 6,925 shares of the company's stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,829 shares of the company's stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the company's stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. M&G Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 49,269 shares of the company's stock worth $3,942,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 3,374 shares of the company's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company's stock.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.