Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $90.89, but opened at $85.43. Colgate-Palmolive shares last traded at $86.35, with a volume of 1,195,022 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $109.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $121.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.00.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.17. The stock has a market cap of $70.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.44.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 405.81% and a net margin of 14.27%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CFO Stanley J. Sutula III sold 45,410 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total value of $4,273,535.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,456,283.86. The trade was a 55.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 3.9% during the third quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Fiducient Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC now owns 2,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Great Waters Wealth Management boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Great Waters Wealth Management now owns 7,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 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.