Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Downgraded by Stifel Nicolaus to Hold

Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $101.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $105.00.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CL. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.11.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.2 %

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $95.79 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $103.03 and its 200-day moving average is $98.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.06. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $72.36 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The company has a market cap of $78.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.31, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 470.19%. Colgate-Palmolive’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In other news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,874.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $240,228.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,874.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gregory Malcolm sold 10,533 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.10, for a total transaction of $1,085,952.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,868.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,490 shares of company stock valued at $4,486,063 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Main Street Research LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.5% during the second quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 6,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% in the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.5% in the second quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.1% in the second quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 9.5% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.