Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Price Target to $88.00

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $88.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential downside of 5.89% from the stock’s previous close.

CL has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE CL traded down $0.39 on Wednesday, hitting $93.51. 590,526 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,125,126. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $89.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.35.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. Analysts predict that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CL. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Colgate-Palmolive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 122 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.