Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Price Target to $92.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on Colgate‑Palmolive to $92 from $100 and kept an "equal weight" rating, implying roughly an 8% upside from the stock's current level.
• Analyst views are mixed but lean positive: the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $95.13 (11 Buys vs. 6 Holds), while firms like JPMorgan and Evercore raised targets to $97/$100 and others (Piper Sandler, Wall Street Zen) trimmed targets or downgraded.
• Colgate beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.95 vs $0.91; revenue $5.23B vs $5.13B), but insiders sold about 184,683 shares (~$17.5M) in the last quarter, and the stock was trading near $85.14 with a 50‑day/200‑day moving average of $91.03/$83.50.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $92.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential upside of 8.06% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $92.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Colgate-Palmolive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.13.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

NYSE CL traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $85.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,164,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,946,119. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $91.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.82. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $74.54 and a 1 year high of $99.33. The company has a market capitalization of $68.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.34.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 353.72% and a net margin of 10.45%.The company had revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Hazlin sold 20,989 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.25, for a total transaction of $1,978,213.25. Following the transaction, the insider owned 17,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,663,041.25. The trade was a 54.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.61, for a total value of $3,311,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $985,363.15. This represents a 77.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 184,683 shares of company stock worth $17,486,693. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,947,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,633,570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,985 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,103,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,754,657,000 after acquiring an additional 304,426 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 19,246,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,520,836,000 after acquiring an additional 323,367 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter valued at $861,670,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 33.9% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company's stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The company's core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.

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