Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Cut to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $95.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $103.00.

CL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Tuesday. They set a buy rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $98.58.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CL opened at $99.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.21, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.39. Colgate-Palmolive has a 12 month low of $67.62 and a 12 month high of $100.61. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.06.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 485.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 19th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $1,149,977.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,309,691.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sally Massey sold 12,226 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $1,149,977.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,309,691.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Kooyman sold 3,497 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.47, for a total value of $326,864.59. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $297,328.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CL. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 560.2% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 288,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,999,000 after purchasing an additional 244,834 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA raised its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 45,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,659,000 after purchasing an additional 22,073 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 182,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,569,000 after buying an additional 13,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd now owns 383,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,594,000 after buying an additional 139,429 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Colgate-Palmolive

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.