Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Initiates Share Repurchase Plan

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CL shares. Barclays cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.72.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $90.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.33 and its 200 day moving average is $94.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $85.32 and a 52-week high of $109.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.82%.

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.