Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.11.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $93.56 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.54. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $75.17 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total value of $4,273,535.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,456,283.86. This represents a 55.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,874.30. This represents a 16.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,067,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,698,096,000 after purchasing an additional 8,933,912 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter worth about $286,370,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 108.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,682,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,367,000 after buying an additional 2,955,442 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,642,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,969,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,400,000 after acquiring an additional 2,593,313 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

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.