Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.61.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $92.74. 4,729,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,874,506. The firm has a market cap of $75.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $88.76 and its 200 day moving average is $95.37. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. 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 posted 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 return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Colgate-Palmolive

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth 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 approximately $348,718,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,749,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,642,000 after buying an additional 2,674,807 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,088.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive by 38.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,644,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.