Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock Price

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $88.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 8.44% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CL. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CL traded up $2.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,405,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,149,356. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $90.03 and its 200 day moving average is $93.36. The stock has a market cap of $77.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter valued at about $912,375,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $348,718,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the 4th quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,569,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,584,000 after buying an additional 2,353,268 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,922,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,816,865 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.