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

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) had its price target upped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $95.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 0.37% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 0.1%

CL stock opened at $95.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.01 billion, a PE ratio of 37.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.82, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.46. Colgate-Palmolive has a one year low of $74.54 and a one year high of $99.33. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.65.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 9.65% and a return on equity of 607.88%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In other Colgate-Palmolive news, CEO Noel Wallace sold 161,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $14,801,050.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 362,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,296,273.52. This represents a 30.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Panagiotis Tsourapas sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.05, for a total value of $920,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 64,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,974,137.05. The trade was a 13.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 175,191 shares of company stock worth $16,110,903 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colgate-Palmolive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 97.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,195,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,635,889,000 after purchasing an additional 46,476,510 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,532,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,240,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,872 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,205,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $752,298,000 after purchasing an additional 88,917 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 6,218,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,090,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $567,483,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) is a global consumer products company focused on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, liquid hand soap, body wash, deodorants, household cleaning products and pet food and treats.

The company markets well-known brands such as Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, meridol, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Ajax, Protex and Hill’s Science Diet. Colgate-Palmolive also provides veterinary and nutritional products through Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which serves pet owners and animal health professionals.

Founded in 1806 by William Colgate, the company developed from a soap and candle business into a diversified consumer goods manufacturer.