Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Cut to “Underweight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $100.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. HSBC reiterated a hold rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an outperform rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $119.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $102.79.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Colgate-Palmolive stock opened at $101.98 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.27, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $67.62 and a one year high of $109.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $102.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.65.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 470.19% and a net margin of 14.21%. The business had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total transaction of $1,522,894.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $529,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Martina Hundmejean sold 2,313 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $240,228.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,755 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,874.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 14,794 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $1,522,894.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,146 shares in the company, valued at $529,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,490 shares of company stock worth $4,486,063 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CL. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 92.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 45,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,659,000 after buying an additional 22,073 shares during the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd now owns 383,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,594,000 after acquiring an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. D L Carlson Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at $3,269,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 1st quarter worth about $911,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,154,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,969,000 after purchasing an additional 26,987 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.