Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Raises Dividend to $0.52 Per Share

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.52 per share on Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is a 4.0% increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Colgate-Palmolive has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 62 consecutive years. Colgate-Palmolive has a dividend payout ratio of 49.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Colgate-Palmolive to earn $4.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.6%.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:CL traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $90.29. The company had a trading volume of 5,570,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,200,518. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,578 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

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.